‘Was she actually raped?’: CM raises doubts on victim’s death

KOLKATA: The death of a 14-yearold girl in West Bengal’s Nadia district last week, allegedly after being raped by a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader’s son, sparked a political storm on Monday after chief minister Mamata Banerjee appeared to dismiss the incident as a “love affair”.

The victim, a Class 9 student in Hanskhali, went to a birthday party hosted by TMC panchayat member Samarendra Gayali’s son Braja Gopal on April 4 and returned home later that night, unwell, police said. She died the next day, apparently due to excessive bleeding and was cremated in the evening, allegedly without a death certificate, they added.

On Saturday, the girl’s family lodged a police complaint against the TMC leader’s son, alleging rape. Local residents and the girl’s family also told police that the victim was forced to drink alcohol before being raped. On Sunday, Braja Gopal was arrested and charged with rape. Three of his friends are also being questioned, police said.

The statements of the victim’s parents were recorded by a magistrate at Nadia court on Monday. While the parents alleged that the girl was raped, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed the minor was gangraped. District police have maintained silence on the investigation.

Since the allegations became public on Saturday, Opposition politicians have made a beeline for the victim’s village, roughly 120 km from state capital Kolkata. The BJP called a 12-hour bandh in the area on Monday.

But Banerjee appeared to suggest that the victim and the main accused were in a consensual relationship even as she sought to draw a distinction between her administration and those run by the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

“Was she actually raped? Was she pregnant? Was there some other reason? Did someone slap her? Was she sick? It is known that there was a love affair. Even her family and neighbours knew about this. I cannot stop boys and girls from falling in love. This is not Uttar Pradesh. I cannot start a love jihad programme. It is a matter of personal liberty,” she said. She accused the girl’s family of not informing the police on time.

On Banerjee’s remark, the victim’s mother said: “My daughter was raped. She was not pregnant.” BJP leaders hit back at the chief minister. “People of Bengal, who voted for a woman chief minister, should do some introspection now,” BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said.