A deeply disturbing case has emerged from Durgapur in West Bengal, where a tribal teenage girl who had gone to visit a local fair was allegedly gang-raped by four young men. Police have arrested all four accused, and the girl is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital.
Girl found alone at fair, dragged into nearby forest
The incident took place on Wednesday night in the Kamalpur area under Durgapur police station limits, where a fair was underway. The tribal teenager had gone there to look around. According to police, four young men spotted her alone and took her into a nearby forest, where all four allegedly took turns raping her. News of the assault spread quickly through the area, triggering shock and anger among local residents.
Family alerts police, all four accused arrested
As soon as her family learned what had happened, they rushed to Durgapur police station and filed a complaint. The girl was then admitted to Durgapur Sub-Divisional Hospital, where she remains under treatment. Acting on the complaint, police launched an investigation and found that the accused were neighbours of the victim. Police arrested Ajay Soren, Lakshman Rabin Baske, Budhan Tudu and Raju Mandi in connection with the case. On Thursday, all four were produced before the Durgapur Sub-Divisional Court, where the judge ordered them to be sent to six days of police custody.
Second such case in weeks, 14-year-old assaulted at a hotel in June
This is not an isolated incident. Earlier in June, another case of gang rape had come to light in Durgapur, involving a 14-year-old girl who was assaulted at a hotel. In that case, police had arrested four people, including a woman: the victim's friend, Sheikh Azharuddin, Subir Das and hotel manager Rajkumar De, all of whom were sent to jail. The accused in that case were aged between 25 and 32 years. According to police, when the girl began bleeding heavily and her condition worsened, the accused checked out of the hotel and returned to Budbud at around 10 pm. They had reportedly taken the girl to Durgapur on the pretext of visiting a shopping mall, after allegedly luring her away from her friend's house. An investigating officer from Durgapur police station had said that the accused left the girl near her home along NH19, from where a toto driver who recognised her brought her back home.
