Mom, girl stabbed by neighbour

TT, Cooch Behar, May 29: A homemaker and her 11-year-old daughter were injured when a neighbour allegedly barged into their home last night and attacked them with a knife.

The woman has alleged that the accused youth tried to rape her and stabbed her several times when she resisted.

Muzaffar Syed, 35, was arrested and produced in the court of the chief metropolitan magistrate here today. He has been remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.

"Syed entered our home around midnight by breaking the door. I was asleep with my daughter. He attacked me and tried to rape me. When I resisted, he stabbed me several times and also stabbed my daughter on the neck when she tried to stop him. I raised the alarm and he fled," the woman, 35, said from the hospital.

She, however, has not mentioned the rape attempt in her police complaint.

Hospital sources said both the woman and the child had been stabbed on their backs and neck. "The woman needed five stitches and her daughter, who has suffered a deep neck wound, has lost a lot of blood. The girl has been referred to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital," a source said.

A neighbour said the woman's husband worked in Bhutan as a mason. "The youth had lent money to him and we believe the attack has something to do with the deal," he said.

Cooch Behar police superintendent Sunil Yadav said: "The women's statement is being treated as an FIR. The youth has been charged with Section 307 (attempt to murder), 326 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons) and 448 (house trespass)."

A police source said: "We will move the court again tomorrow seeking 10 days' police remand for the accused."