Kolkata, Oct 05, 2024, IANS

Kolkata, Oct 5 (IANS) Jaynagar in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal has turned into a virtual battlefield since Saturday morning due to violent protests by local people over the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl on Friday night. The body of the minor girl was recovered from a canal after Friday midnight and since Saturday morning the local people started protesting in front of the Jaynagar Police station accusing the cops of ignoring the early intimation from the victim’s parents about their daughter being missing since Friday evening. The victim’s parents alleged that their daughter, a resident of Kipakhali area under Kultali Police station, on Friday afternoon, went to a private tutorial home under Jaynagar Police Station to attend classes. However, as she did not return home till Friday evening, her parents brought the matter to the notice of the police. The victim’s parents alleged that the cops at the police station did not take their intimation seriously and had they done their job immediately, such a ghastly tragedy could have been averted. They also alleged that the police started the investigation only after the body of the victim was recovered from the canal after midnight. The victim’s parents also claimed that the body of their daughter had multiple injury marks. The police claimed that a local youth had been arrested based on CCTV footage, where he was spotted with the victim. Since Saturday morning, hundreds of local people started protesting near Jaynagar Police Station accusing police of negligence and ignoring the early intimation by the victim’s parents about their missing daughter. As time passed the protests became violent and the people attacked the police station. A local police camp was ransacked and set on fire. The police had to resort to massive lathicharge to dispel the mob. Additional police forces rushed to the area to bring the situation under control. At the time the report was filed, reports of frequent clashes between the cops and protesters were surfacing and the entire area around Jaynagar Police Station was under the grip of acute tension. A senior district police official confirmed that one arrest had been made in connection with the alleged rape and murder and investigation was on to find out whether others were involved in the crime. “The body of the victim has been sent for post-mortem. Right now our priority is to bring the tense situation under control,” he said.