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The mother of the three-year-old girl from Purulia, who died after being “sexually tortured with needles”, was detained on Saturday. The woman, Mangla Goswami, is being grilled at Sadar police station in Purulia. “She had been detained and we are quizzing her to know more about the case,” said Joy Biswas SP (Purulia). Goswami was under police scanner ever since the incident came to light. Sources in the police said that her versions on how the needles were injected in her daughter’s body had discrepancies. Police are trying to find out if she was aware of the torture that her daughter was going through.
Police sources said that on Friday, the authorities of the SSKM Hospital, where the three-year-old was admitted, were informed that police would come and take Goswami into custody. After the police team arrived at the hospital, Goswami was handed over to the police. She was then brought to Purulia.
“She is hiding something. She is in her twenties and was apparently brainwashed by the accused and her employer Sanatan Thakur. She was staying with Sanatan in the same house. It is unbelievable that she was unaware of the torture (her daughter was subjected to). May be she wasn’t aware about the entire incident, but she is definitely involved in the case in some way or the other,” said a police officer. Sources in the police said that the accused was a friend of Goswami’s husband. Goswami shifted to Thakur’s house after her husband left her. Neighbours knew that Goswami was employed by Sanatan as a domestic help.
READ | Three-year-old girl ‘sexually tortured with needles’ dies in hospital in Kolkata
“We are probing the case from all angles. Whether it was a conspiracy to kill the girl slowly by injecting needles in her body or there was some other motive, that needs to be investigated. If we find her role in the case, we will add section 120B (criminal conspiracy) against her,” said a police officer.
Meanwhile, Purulia district police has launched a massive manhunt to trace Thakur. The three-year-old girl, who was a victim of “sexual assault” and had seven needles injected in her body, died on Friday within 48 hours of her surgery. The doctors had managed to extract all needles from her body but couldn’t save her. She died of intra-abdominal sepsis.
