Kaliaganj (West Bengal): Miscreants set fire Tuesday to Kaliaganj police station in West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district. It happened during protests against the death of a teenage girl whose body was found in a canal last week. The girl had allegedly been raped before being murdered.
People allegedly from the ‘Adivasi’ and ‘Rajbangshi’ communities organised a ‘Thana gherao’ programme Tuesday afternoon. They were protesting against alleged ‘police inaction’ in the case. They claimed that police had nothing to nab the accused involved in the rape and murder case.
Preliminary post-mortem of the girl’s body, however, indicated she had not been raped.
The mob broke barricades and pelted the police station with stones, an officer said. The police personnel started a baton charge but could not stop the mob from entering the police station and setting it on fire. One police vehicle was also set ablaze, the officer informed. “We are trying to bring the situation under control,” the police officer added.
The body of the 17-year-old girl was found floating April 21 in a canal in Kaliaganj. Alleging that she was raped and killed, locals had put up road blockades by burning tyres and set several shops on fire.
The incident triggered a war of words between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the opposition BJP ahead of the panchayat elections in West Bengal. The TMC accused the saffron party of trying to ‘politicise and communalise’ the matter. The BJP on the other hand, demanded a CBI probe and promised legal aid to the girl’s family.
Four police officers, all in the rank of assistant sub-inspectors, were Monday suspended for allegedly dragging the body of the girl on the road while removing it from the spot where it was found, amid protests by people. A video purportedly showing the incident has gone viral.