CBI Makes First Arrest In West Bengal Teen's Rape, Murder Case

On April 16, Saturday, the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested Ranjit Mallick in the West Bengal rape case which is labelled as Nadia Rape Case. This marked the central agency's first arrest in the case. Mallick was arrested from the Ranghat area of Nadia district; he escaped after the incident.

In total three arrests have been made so far and Ranjit is the third accused first person to be arrested since CBI took over. Earlier the two accused were arrested by the Bengal police and one of them was the son of the TMC leader.

What Is The West Bengal Rape Case?

The incident took place in the Hanskhali area in the Nadia district of West Bengal on April 9 when she went to a birthday party of a local TMC leader's son. The prime accused in the case is TMC leader Samar Goala's 21 years old son Braja Gopal Goala. The second accused is Prabhakar Poddar, who was later arrested after Braja Goala's arrest based on his statement.

The victim died the next day of the incident. The teen’s family claimed that the body was cremated without an autopsy under pressure from TMC panchayat leader Samar Goala, whose son is Braj Gopal Goala. A police complaint was lodged on April 10 which is 5 days after the incident took place. “On April 4, my daughter went to a birthday party at the invitation of Samar Goala’s son. They dropped my daughter off at 7:30 pm. My wife, who was home at the time, told me that one woman and two men had come to drop her off. We don’t know who they were,” the girl’s father said.

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“She was bleeding after returning from that party. Early next morning, as her condition deteriorated, we went to look for a doctor. By the time we returned, she had died. She was raped by Samar Goala’s son. My daughter and that boy were in a relationship,” he added. “Those who came to drop my daughter that evening threatened to torch our house if we opened our mouths. That is why we didn’t say anything to anyone. But now I am demanding punishment,” the girl’s mother said.

What's Happened So Far?

The Calcutta High Court had ordered the CBI to take over the case for a "fair investigation into the matter and to instil confidence in the family members of the victim and also the residents of the locality and the state." The court had pulled the police for lackadaisical attitude with the case. The state government was also told to provide full protection to the victim's family and witnesses in the case. The CBI has also reportedly collected evidence from the MLA's home to run DNA tests.

This case has become the focal point of political debates in the state owing to CM Mamata Bannerjee's comments on the rape case which blamed the victim. Many leaders from the opposition and the National Women's Commission raised objections to her statement.