West Bengal: 1 person detained in alleged rape of minor girl in South 24 Parganas

South 24 Parganas (West Bengal) [India], October 6 (ANI): The West Bengal Police on Sunday detained a person in the alleged rape of a minor girl in South 24 Parganas.

The tragic incident has shaken the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. A 10-year-old girl was found dead in a canal in Kultali, and the police have detained a person who confessed to killing her.

“The body of a girl was found, after which there was anger among the local people. We have controlled the law and order situation. Yesterday evening the girl went out and when she did not return home till 8 pm. The family approached the police and lodged a complaint,” South 24 Parganas, Baruipur SP Palash Chandra Dhali told ANI on Sunday.

The girl had gone missing the previous evening while returning from tuition, and her family had approached the police.

“Yesterday itself, we started the investigation. After investigation, today we detained a person; he said that he had killed the girl. Our government is very serious about such cases, and the matter is being investigated,” he added.

Meanwhile, the victim’s aunt accused the police of having neglected the matter when her father approached them, adding that the girl’s body showed severe injuries, including broken limbs

“The body (of the girl) has several injuries on the body; limbs have been broken…She went missing while coming back from the tuition…Her father tried to find her everywhere, but when he was not able to find her, he went to the police station, but the police refused to listen to him and asked him to go to the Jaynagar police station. Police neglected the matter,” the aunt told ANI.

The incident has sparked widespread outrage, highlighting concerns about women’s safety in the state

Pointing out the incident, the opposition BJP slammed the Mamata Banerjee government, saying that “women are not safe” in the state.

On Saturday, the BJP launched a protest in Kultali after the body of the girl was found.

“It has been proved again that women are not safe under the Mamata Banerjee administration,” Bharatiya Janata Party state president Sukanta Mazumdar said.

Mazumdar further said that he would not inaugurate Durga Puja Pandal as a sign of protest against the TMC government.

“I have decided to not inaugurate any Puja (Durga puja pandal) this year in protest against this. I will pray before Maa that the public should teach a lesson to this government,” he said.

Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha also launched a protest in the North Kolkata district on Saturday, demanding justice for the minor girl, who was allegedly raped and killed.

Earlier in the day, Agnimitra Paul, President of BJP Mahila Morcha, criticised the Kautali police for “not filing FIR” even after the parents of the deceased minor urged them. She further demanded a postmortem from a central government hospital, showing her distrust of the state government.

“A nine-year-old girl who was returning from tuition yesterday, her body was found in a canal today. The girl’s body had urged the police to file an FIR in the matter, but Mamata Banerjee’s police did not register it. Those who have seen her body she had injuries on her body similar to those on Abhaya’s body. In this case, the body should be preserved. Post-mortem should be performed at a hospital under the Central government.” Agnimitra Paul said.

“I spoke to the girl’s father and he agrees that the body should be preserved. The CM needs to take responsibility as she protects the accused. We will demand the death penalty for the accused and a CBI inquiry into the case,” she added.