41-year-old truck driver arrested for raping 3-year-old in Siliguri

MP  | 19 Sept 2023 | Siliguri: A 41-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping a three-year-old child. The family recovered the girl in a blood-soaked condition from a truck terminus in the Phansidewa area. 

The accused has been identified as Subal Mandal, driver of a gas tanker and a resident of Burdwan. The girl was recovered from near the gas tanker. The accused has been booked under POCSO Act and was produced before the Siliguri Sub-Divisional Court on Tuesday. He has been sent to judicial custody for 14 days. 

The child belongs to a family of daily wage workers. She lives with her mother, father and brother. Both her parents work as daily-wage labourers. On Monday night, there was a large gathering at the truck terminus on the occasion of Viswakarma Puja. 

At night, the child was sleeping with her brother at a temple near the truck terminus while her parents had gone to work. 

Later, at night, when they came back, they couldn’t find the child and later, at around 1:30 am, they spotted the girl lying near a gas tanker. They rushed her to a Primary Health Centre from where she was referred to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. Her condition is reported critical. 

Meanwhile, police reached the spot at night and arrested the driver of the tanker. The family members of the child lodged a complaint of rape with the police. 

As the news of the incident spread, local residents flocked to the truck terminus on Tuesday and demanded stringent punishment for the accused. 

“Such incidents should never happen anywhere. The child is undergoing treatment. Police should ensure strict punishment,” said Rajkumar Singha, a truck driver of the area who had also helped rescue the victim.

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/41-year-old-truck-driver-arrested-for-raping-3-year-old-in-siliguri-533508