Bengal: Fresh violence erupts over minor girl's alleged rape, murder

Fresh clashes between residents and the police have reportedly erupted in North Dinajpur's Kaliaganj village in West Bengal following the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl. While two individuals have been arrested in the case so far, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident, said reports.

• A massive clash broke out between locals and the police in Kaliaganj on Friday after a 17-year-old girl's dead body was found near a pond.
• As per reports, the girl went missing on Thursday evening after she left her home to attend tuition classes.
• Later, a viral clip reportedly showed cops insensitively dragging the victim's body while some locals threw stones at them.

According to the family of the 17-year-old victim, she was allegedly raped before being murdered. While the cops are still verifying those claims, they have identified the arrested accused as 18-year-old Javed Akhtar and his father. Furthermore, the National Commission for Women (NCW) wrote to West Bengal's Director General of Police, Manoj Malaviya, demanding a probe into the cops who dragged the victim's body.

Sudeshna Roy, West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) chairperson, said after meeting the victim's family members, "We stand by the family. They have demanded capital punishment for the culprits." "We told them we cannot ensure that as it is a matter of the law. We have assured that stringent action will be taken against the perpetrators," Roy added.

On Saturday, West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar met the victim's family and assured them of legal assistance to ensure an investigation by the central probe agency. "The police are trying to hush up the matter. They are trying to destroy evidence and not investigating properly (sic)," news outlet The Indian Express quoted the BJP leader as saying.

Meanwhile, BJP IT (Information Technology) cell head Amit Malviya took to Twitter and attacked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her administration. "Banerjee's administration didn't allow local BJP MLAs Satyendra Nath Ray and Budhrai Tudu to visit the victim's family but let Uttar Dinajpur TMC President Kanaia Lal Agarwal meet them," Malviya wrote. "Who are they trying to save here?" he asked.

While condemning the incident, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) also slammed the saffron brigade for politicizing the matter. TMC state General Secretary Kunal Ghosh stated, "It is an unfortunate and very sad incident. We fully sympathize with the family." "The police are investigating the matter to find out what actually happened. Before the investigation is over, the BJP is trying to instigate violence," he added.