On 29th October this year, a minor Hindu girl was raped and murdered in Raghabpur village in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
As per reports, the girl went missing from her house at around 9:30 p.m. on that fateful night. The lifeless body of the victim was found hanging from a tree, just four inches above the ground.
The incident created outrage in the area, which is located about 10 kilometres from the India-Bangladesh border. The primary accused in the case was identified as one Sheikh Illiyas Mondal. He reportedly committed the crime along with two of his accomplices.
The matter came to light only after the intervention of Devdutta Maji, the president of the Hindu rights outfit ‘Singha Bahini.’ The victim belonged to the Scheduled Caste (Dalit) community.
In a tweet on Sunday (5th November), he informed, “Your overwhelming support compelled the Police of North 24 Parganas to take action against the culprits of the Minor Hindu SC victim girl (15 years old) who was gangraped and brutally murdered by Jihadis (Iliyas, Ibrahim and others).”
“I would also thank Shri Arun Halder Ji (Honourable Chairman <acting> of National Commission for Schedule Caste) whom I mentioned in my tweet today and who visited the victim’s house early in the morning and assured help, including financial assistance of Rs 4 Lacs,” he added.
National Commission of Scheduled Castes (NCSC) Chairman also visited the village and met the family of the victim. ‘Singha Bahini‘ has so far handed ₹35000 to the parents of the minor Hindu girl.
According to Devdutta Maji, the accused Sheikh Illiyas Mondal had been disturbing the victim for several months. He is also a resident of Raghabpur village and his house is just 10 minutes’ walk from that of the victim.
The Hindu activist informed that the local police tried to cover up the incident and pass of the victim’s death as a case of suicide. This was despite the fact that the girl’s body was found hanging just few metres above the ground.
Devdutta Maji speaks to OpIndia
He accused the cops of hurriedly conducting a post-mortem and forcing the victim’s family to cremate the body. According to Maji, a few Muslim youths initially told the family that the girl eloped with accused Illyas.
While speaking to OpIndia, he informed, “About 1.5 years ago, a similar incident took place just 100 metres away from the girls’s house. The victim, who is now 14 years old, was 12 back then. She was abducted by a man named Rafique Ghazi, taken to a nearby jungle and raped.”
“The girl managed to bite the accused and flee the crime scene. Rafique Ghazi served around 6 months in jail,” he added. It must be mentioned that Muslims constitute 25.82% (2011 Census) of the population in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.