Death of Girl in Delhi triggers blockade

RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, Kalimpong, May 10: Villagers of Tarkhola on NH10, which connects Siliguri with Sikkim, blocked the highway for nearly one-and-half hour today, alleging that a local girl who was believed to have committed suicide in Delhi was actually murdered by her boy friend.

The body of Tresa Rai, who was working in a hotel in Delhi, was brought to her village, about 35km from here, yesterday. She is believed to have committed suicide at her home in Mandawali in Delhi on Sunday night. Today, when her body was being taken out for burial at Tarkhola, villagers came out on the highway, carrying placards and shouting slogans, demanding the arrest of her boy friend, with whom she was in a live-in relationship, who, they alleged, had murdered her.

Traffic on the highway came to a complete halt between noon and 1:20 p.m. "We want justice" and "The accused in the murder of Tresa Rai must be hanged" read some of the placards. "I demand that exemplary punishment be given to the accused," said Prem Kumar Rai, the father of the girl.