Jalpaiguri girl 'stripped' on road

TT, Jalpaiguri: The parents of a Jalpaiguri girl have complained to the district police chief that the 14-year-old was stripped by a neighbour in the middle of a road and that local cops had not taken any action.

According to the family, when the girl, a Class IX student, covered her face in shame and lay down on her stomach, neighbour Kanu Barman, a farmer, and his relatives tied a rope around her neck and pulled her.

The girl's parents said that on April 8, a calf had strayed into Kanu's agricultural field in Mainaguri and damaged crops.

"When she went to bring back the calf, Kanu's family abused her. When she protested, they caught hold of her, dragged her onto the road and stripped her," the girl's mother said.

The girl's family of farmers had lodged a complaint at Mainaguri police station on April 9.

A political element has been injected into the developments with the girl's family alleging that the police did not take action against the accused - Kanu, his wife Menoka, daughters Jyotsna, Krishna and Kabita and daughter-in-law Champasari - because they were Trinamul supporters while the complainants were BJP backers.

Police sources in Mainaguri denied the allegations and said the accused were absconding.

Amitabha Maiti, the superintendent of Jalpaiguri police, said he had assured the girl's family that necessary steps would be taken. "All those involved in the crime will be booked. We have asked our officers at the police station concerned to tell us what steps have been taken," said Maiti.