Horrific Child Abduction Rocks Tarakeshwar
A four-year-old girl sleeping beside her grandmother under a mosquito net at the Railway shed in Tarakeshwar near Kolkata became the victim of a brutal abduction and sexual assault on the night of November 7, according to police reports.
Night of Terror: How the Incident Unfolded
The chilling incident occurred around 4 am while the child was sleeping with her grandmother. The victim, who belongs to the Banjara community, had been living on the streets with her family after their home was demolished. "Where do we go? We don't have any homes," the family lamented, highlighting their vulnerable situation.
The family believes the attacker slashed the mosquito net to kidnap the girl. The grandmother told investigators, "I didn't even realise when she was taken. I don't know who the people were who took her away. They cut the mosquito net and took her away. She was found naked."
Discovery and Political Fallout
The child was discovered the following afternoon near the high drain by Tarakeshwar railway station, lying in a pool of blood. The victim, who remains in critical condition, is currently receiving treatment at Tarakeswar Gramin Hospital.
The incident has triggered a major political controversy, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongly criticizing the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-led Mamata Banerjee government. The BJP alleged that the girl had been raped and that police initially refused to register a First Information Report (FIR).
Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of Opposition in Bengal, took to social media platform X to express his outrage: "4-year old girl child has been Raped in Tarkeshwar. Family rushes to Police Station, but FIR not registered! Taken to the Hospital - referred to Chandannagar. Tarkeshwar Police busy burying the Crime. This is the True Face of Mamata Banerjee's free-for-all regime."
However, authorities have since filed an FIR under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, confirming the serious nature of the crime.
Parallel Case in Assam
In a separate but equally disturbing incident, a schoolgirl was allegedly gang raped in Assam's Tinsukia district while returning home from school. The incident occurred in the Bordubi police station area on Monday afternoon.
According to the victim's statement, three men assaulted her and left her by the roadside while she was on her way home from school. Her family reported that the class 7 student didn't return home after school ended at 2:30 pm.
"Around 5 pm, an e-rickshaw driver informed the family that he had found her lying by the roadside in a semi-conscious condition near a tea garden," an official stated. The family rushed to the spot and found her with visible injury marks and torn clothes.
Police immediately dispatched a team to the scene and transported the girl to a hospital. "We are awaiting the medical report. In the meantime, we have launched a manhunt to nab the culprits," the official added.
