Bengal minor's death blamed on gang-rape at TMC leader's house sparks outrage, Mamata remark adds fuel

According to reports, the minor girl in Nadia district of south Bengal had joined the birthday party of local TMC leader Samar Gayali's son Brajagopal Gayali at his place on Apr 4 (Monday) and in the late evening, some locals brought her home with severe sickness.

Family members of the 14-year-old girl were also allegedly "threatened" not to take her to any government or private hospital. They were also advised to take the girl to a local "quack doctor".

Later on Apr 5 (Tuesday) early morning, the girl died at her home. Her family members alleged that she had been gang-raped by the TMC leader's son and his friends in the birthday party and she had died of excessive bleeding.

It was also alleged that her body was "cremated under pressure" with kerosene at a local 'unregistered' crematorium, without autopsy, medical test or even any death certificate.

The incident came to light on Saturday (Apr 9) after her family registered a police complaint and the local police converted it to an FIR.

Since Saturday, TMC leader Samar Gayali and his family members have been "untraceable", though police have arrested the primary accused in the case, Samar's son Brajagopal Gayali.

Brajagopal was produced in a local court in Nadia's Ranaghat on Monday and he was sent to police custody for 14 days.

Meanwhile, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Calcutta High Court, demanding CBI probe into the incident.

The matter is likely to be heard in the division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj on Tuesday.

Mamata's reaction triggers row:

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's reaction to the incident has drawn criticism after the CM has indicated a "love affair" between the victim and the prime accused.

Questioning her family why the complaint was lodged five days after the incident, Mamata Banerjee said, "The girl died on Apr 5, and the police complaint was registered on Apr 10! If they had a complaint, then why did not they lodge it immediately after the incident!"

She said, "The body has been cremated without informing anyone! Now how would the police investigate the matter!"

Expressing doubt about the cause of the minor girl's death and calling it a "small incident", Mamata said, "The police are yet to understand the cause of her death. I had asked them. Will you call it rape or was she pregnant? Was it (the fallout of) a love affair?" "Have you enquired about these?" she asked a top cop at an event where she was speaking.

Calling it an "unfortunate" incident, she said, "I am talking as a layman without knowing the incident entirely. From where will police get the evidence whether the girl was raped or she was pregnant or there was any other reason such as she was slapped by someone after which she fell ill."

The Chief Minister claimed the victim girl had a "love affair".

"She had a love affair. Her family knew it, neighbours knew it. If a boy and girl are in a relationship, this is not possible for me to stop them. This is not Uttar Pradesh that we will hold programmes on 'Love Jihad'," Banerjee said.

"If there is any crime committed, action will be taken against those who were involved in it. Action has already been taken. One accused has been arrested," she added.

Opposition reacts:

Leaders of the state's opposition parties said they are shocked after hearing the "reaction" from the state's Chief Minister.

Criticising Mamata Banerjee's statement on the incident, Bengal Leader of Opposition (LOP), BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, said he will visit Hanskhali on Tuesday to meet the victim's family members.

"The family is being forcibly kept in the local police station so that they can't make any statement to the media," Suvendu Alleged.

Reacting to Mamata's statement, BJP's Amit Malviya tweeted: "Shocking statement by Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, who trivialises the brutal rape and murder of a 14 year old girl in Nadia’s Hanskhali. She questions the victim and asks if it was a love affair or a case of unplanned pregnancy gone awry! Because the accused is TMC leader’s son."

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "There is no difference between the incidents of UP's Hathras and Bengal's Hanskhali. Police was involved in 'forcibly cremating' the victim's body in UP, and TMC is involved here in Nadia."

"TMC and BJP are the two sides of the same coin," he added.

CPI-M leader Sujan Chakraborty said, "What happened in Nadia's Hanskhali is a shameful incident, and more shameful is the state's Chief Minister's reaction to the matter."

Meanwhile, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Twitter that he had sought an 'urgent response' from the state's Chief Secretary on the alleged gang-rape death incident of Hanskhali.