Kolkata: A 17-year-old girl, a student of Class 11, was allegedly abducted, raped and murdered near the Indo-Bangladesh border at Gaighata, North 24 Parganas, on Saturday night. Her naked body was recovered from behind a neighbour’s house on Sunday morning, triggering protests in the area.Police arrested Prahlad Das, 23, a resident of Shimulpur in Gaighata and said to have been known to the victim. A Bongaon court remanded him in 10 days of police custody on Sunday afternoon.According to police, the girl had attended a soiree near her house on Saturday night. Her family alleged she received a phone call around 11.30pm and left the event. When she did not return, family relatives, and neighbours searched for her through the night. Her body, bearing multiple injuries, was recovered in the morning.Her aunt said she had last seen the girl on Saturday evening. “She told us she was going to the jalsa with a friend. In the morning, we heard about this horrific incident,” she said.Bongaon Police District SP Bidisha Kalita Dasgupta said a rape and murder case had been registered based on the family’s complaint. A special investigation team headed by the ASP of Bongaon has been formed. A medical board has been constituted for the post-mortem, which will be videographed. A forensic team has been called to collect evidence from the crime scene.“We are investigating whether more people were involved. The accused will be interrogated further,” the SP said.Preliminary questioning has indicated the accused allegedly harboured resentment against the girl over remarks she had made about his mother. Investigators are examining the motive and whether others were involved.A large police contingent including RAF and Combat Force personnel was deployed to bring the situation under control following protests by local residents.Gaighata MLA Subrata Thakur condemned the incident and said his party stood by the victim’s family, demanding the harshest possible punishment.
