15-yr-old killed for challenging Bengal kangaroo court verdict

The body of a minor was found near railway tracks in Jalpaiguri district on Tuesday, a day after she challenged the verdict of a kangaroo court.

The case, which is touted to be an alleged rape and murder, has snowballed into a major issue with local and railway police changing their versions on Wednesday.

The class 10 student had on Monday gone to attend a ‘salishi’ (meeting) called by Namita Roy, TMC councillor of the munici- pality. At the meeting, TMC leaders — headed by Chandrakanta Roy, Namita’s husband — asked the girl’s father to pay money to Anil Burman — from whom he had hired a power tiller.

W h e n t h e g i rl ’ s f a t h e r expressed his inability to pay the sum, he was assaulted. The girl protested and those present in the meeting turned on her and demanded that she lick spittle off the ground.

The victim’s father lodged a complaint against the TMC councillor, her husband and 11 other TMC supporters, accusing them of raping and murder- ing the girl.

Villagers claimed that one of those present in the meeting said that he would take the girl back to her house. However, the girl failed to return and her body was found the next morning.

Debasis Sarkar, superintendent of railway police, said that the case was being investigated and the police were yet to receive a post mortem report.

However, Kunal Agarwal, SP, Jalpaiguri, said that the main accused had been arrested and that the local police were only assisting the GRP investigating the matter.