Violent turn to Bengal teen’s death: Mob sets police station on fire

According to police, 17 personnel have been injured in the incident at the Raiganj police station compound. Two are seriously injured.

ADG (North Bengal) Ajay Kumar said, “The Rajbanshi SC-ST Coordination Committee took out a procession at 3.15 pm. About 350 people participated, with women leading it. To prevent any untoward incident, police stopped the procession at some points, following which a few people started pelting stones, targeting the personnel. Police showed restraint because women were at the front. But some miscreants came and entered our compound. They broke the boundary walls and a few vehicles that had been seized by the police were torched. They also set fire in a room where some documents were stored.”

“Police have taken all the action they could have after the April 21 incident (the girl’s death), but because of instigation by some with ulterior motives, common people are suffering. We will take strict action against anyone involved in this. Seventeen of our people are injured, two have been referred to Raiganj hospital. We have identified a few (from the mob) already, some have been detained. It was a planned attack,” he said.

TMC chief spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said: “It is unthinkable that a police station has been set on fire. BJP has been brainwashing and instigating people by sending their people from Delhi to give false and fabricated statements. It is BJP-sponsored violence.”

BJP spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya hit back: “The kind of war that this government has started against backward classes, tribals, etc, today’s incident is the fallout of that. You cannot influence an angry mob. It is a spontaneous outburst against police and state administration. TMC leaders have been giving provocative statements one after another, maligning the victim’s family. Nobody promotes violence and arson but here it is out of people’s anger.”

The 17-year-old was found dead on the banks of a pond last Friday, a day after she went missing. Police have said they are verifying the family’s allegations of rape and murder, and have arrested a man identified as Javed Akhtar and his father.

Raiganj SP Md Sana Akhtar had earlier said the girl died due to effects of poison, but did not go into details. The family has been pressing for strict punishment for the accused.

On Monday, four police ASIs were suspended for allegedly dragging away the girl’s body. Of the four ASIs, three were from Kaliaganj police station while one was from Raiganj police station.