Girl suicide after molest finger at BSF - Sexual assault on pretext of search, say kin

TT, Balurghat, May 8: A schoolgirl who was allegedly molested by a BSF jawan yesterday when she was returning home from tuitions tried to hang herself and died soon after.

The parents of the girl have filed a police complaint but not named any jawan.

The commandant of the BSF's 75 Battalion, Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, denied the charge that a jawan had molested the girl. "No BSF jawan is involved in the molestation of any schoolgirl," he said.

The family said the girl had told her parents the soldier molested her on the pretext of searching her.

"She had gone to a coaching centre near her home as usual around 7am yesterday. The centre is close to a BSF camp. While returning, she was approached by a few BSF jawans who patrol the border area. One of them said he wanted to check her belongings to know if she was carrying anything illegal. The guard threatened her with dire consequences if she disclosed the matter to anyone," said a villager.

The girl reached home and told her parents what had happened to her. The girl's mother even went to the spot and argued with the jawans.

"After sometime, the girl entered her bedroom and locked the door. Alerted by her screams, the family members and neighbours broke open the door and found that she had tied a duppatta around her neck and hanged herself from the ceiling," said the villager.

The girl was rescued and taken to the local health centre. After an hour, her condition worsened and she was referred to the Balurghat district hospital. She died around 11.20pm in the district hospital.

Asked about the cause of the death, a doctor said: "The girl had deep injuries on the neck. Everything will be clear after post-mortem report comes."

The girl's uncle said a police complaint had been lodged with details of the molestation.

"The villagers are frequently harassed by the BSF. We want strict police action against the accused. Otherwise, we will be forced to launch an agitation," he said.

The villagers said BSF jawans regularly misbehaved with schoolgirls in villages close to the border. "Jawans are often involved in serious crimes like cattle smuggling. They tease schoolgirls. Molestation and sexual harassment of young girls happen frequently but we dare not lodge complaints. The safety and security of women is at stake," said a villager.

The police said they had received the complaint and started an investigation.