Kaliaganj clash: Four ASIs suspended for ‘dragging’ victim body

Uttar Dinajpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohd Sana Akhtar said, “The suspension orders were issued on the basis of a departmental inquiry that we conducted.”

Last Friday, the villagers blocked a road demanding the arrest of culprits, alleging that the girl was gang-raped before being murdered. The protesters clashed with the police personnel who tried to lift the blockade. It was during the clash that some policemen, allegedly six in number, dragged the body on the road for a while before putting it in an ambulance.

A purported video of the incident also went viral on social media. Taking note of the incident, the National Commission for Women had sought a report in this connection.

The preliminary post-mortem examination report had stated that the girl died due to soome poisonous substance. Two persons have been arrested over the girl’s death while several people were held for causing unrest in the area.

On Monday, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Priyank Kanoongo met one of the doctors who conducted post-mortem on the victim’s body. He also spoke to the investigating officer (IO) of the case.

Kanoongo said, “The doctor I met with said that there was an injury on the girl’s lips. West Bengal minister Shashi Panja’s statement that the girl committed suicide by consuming poison is not only irresponsible but also false.”

Panja said, “No one is trying to hide anything. Prima facie, the police found that the cause of death is poison. The police have already registered a case of murder and under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) and the SC/ST Acts based on the allegations. Let the police investigate the matter.”

Meanwhile, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed on Monday in the Calcutta High Court alleging rape and murder of the minor girl.

Ravi Shankar Chattopadhyay, a lawyer, filed the petition that was allowed by a division bench of Acting Chief Justice TS Shivagnam and Justice Hiranmoy Bhattacharya.

The petitioner requested a CBI probe into the case besides seeking security and compensation of Rs 1 crore for the girl’s family. The case will be heard on Tuesday.