MALDA: A sixteen-year-old was gangraped, tortured and then strangled to death with her own dupatta at Mathurapur on Friday. Locals found the body of the teen lying in a field - her school bag and books strewn all over the place. SP Jayanta Pal is himself leading the investigation and said prima facie it seems the victim had tried to put up a resistance. The Class-IX student left home around 3pm on Friday to go for tuition classes. "After the tuition class got over, she called back home to inform that she will not be returning home and staying the night at a friend's place. This was a common practice and she often stayed back at her friend's house to study together and thus we did not object to it," said her family members. Around 6am on Saturday, the news of her death reached the family. On getting the news of her death, the girl's father, a former Army man and resident of Maraniapara, rushed to the field near the Agricultural Research Centre and identified the body to be that of his younger daughter from the kurta churidar she was wearing. The dupatta was tied around her neck and it was evident she was raped before being strangulated. The sexual violence in the home constituency of women welfareminister Sabitri Mitra has left the residents of Malda shell shocked. On getting the news, Mitra visited the victim's family and offered her condolences. She also blamed police inaction for a spurt in crime against women in the district. Though the battered girl was found early on Saturday, police from Manikchak police station reached the spot only around 10am. They retrieved the body and sent it for austopsy. Police suspect that the girl fell prey to goons while on the way to her friend's house. "We have got some specific clues on the murder and are continuing with the investigation," said Pal. Women welfare minister Sabitri Mitra visited the victim's family and blamed police inaction for the spurt in crime against women.