JALPAIGURI: A schoolgirl belonging to a scheduled caste community was allegedly gang-raped and murdered soon after she protested against the humiliation of her family at a kangaroo court convened by Trinamool councilor Namita Ray in Jalpaiguri’s Dhupguri late on Monday.

Namita allegedly spat on the ground and asked her to lick it. This triggered a melee between relatives of the schoolgirl and Trinamool supporters. She went missing after that and her nude body was found beside railway tracks on Tuesday morning. Her head had been nearly chopped in half. Her jeans and Tee-shirt lay a few metres away, undamaged, as if they had been flung there.

This incident brings more shame to the state after back-to-back complaints of sexual assault at Visva-Bharati and Jadavpur University last week and the gang-rape of a tribal girl ordered by a kangaroo court in Birbhum in January this year.

The Jalpaiguri girl’s family — steadfast CPM supporters — allege that Trinamool goons raped and killed her. Namita and her husband Chandrakanta Ray, a former Trinamool councillor, are among 13 people named in the FIR. Police have arrested two of the accused — Trinamool supporter Anil Burman and his teenage son Subir. Namita and her husband are absconding.

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The horrific crime has triggered waves of protest in Dhupguri and comes at a time when chief minister Mamata Banerjee is in North Bengal. A police statement that no signs of sexual assault were found in a preliminary examination has outraged people even further. CPM’s district secretary Salil Acharya has threatened to bring Jalpaiguri to a halt if the body isn’t sent for forensic tests.

Witnesses say the girl’s body bore multiple wounds — some looked like deep bite marks and others were made with sharp weapons. The skull was almost severed vertically. Siliguri SRP Debasish Sarkar said: “It was initially suspected to be a case of unnatural death because the body was found very close to railway tracks. It has been identified now and a specific case initiated based on the FIR. Investigations are on.”

The victim’s father had an old dispute with Trinamool supporter Anil Burman on the mode of payment for using a power tiller for cultivating their land. They live in Madhyapara, a rural patch in Dhupguri municipality. At Burman’s behest, local councillor Namita Ray convened the kangaroo court to “settle” the dispute. The salishi sabha was held in front of Trinamool leader Saraswasti Ray ’s home. The victim’s family alleges that they were dragged there by Burman.

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Namita and Chandrakanta were among those who managed the proceedings and fined the girl’s father Rs 40,000, and threatened to burn his house unless the family quit the village within a month, says the complaint. The family was assaulted and abused, triggering a spirited protest by the schoolgirl, who reminded the gathering that what they were doing was illegal. At this, Namita allegedly spat on the ground and asked her to lick it. This infuriated the girl further. Chaos broke out and she went missing. Her body was found 2km away.

The victim’s uncle said: “She protested when her father, my brother-in-law, was beaten up. They threatened her, but she continued to challenge them. If she committed suicide, why was she without clothes? I think they raped and killed her.” Jalpaiguri SP Kunal Agarwal said two suspects have been arrested and handed over to GRP, which is investigating the case.

Trinamool’s Jalpaiguri-Alipurduar president Saurav Chakraborty denied the charges. “Any inference drawn before police finish their probe would be misleading. There is a relentless slander campaign against Trinamool. The party has no link here. I have heard of no kangaroo court, either.”

