Bandel (Hooghly), Oct 27: A 13-year-old schoolgirl was allegedly abducted, drugged and sexually assaulted by several persons at a hotel in Bandel in Hooghly district, police said on Tuesday, after the girl's family lodged a formal complaint at Baguiati Police Station in Kolkata. Police have registered a case covering abduction, gang rape, extortion and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, IANS reported. Nation Press also reported the case registration and the family's complaint on Tuesday.
Source: IANS via The Freedom Press
According to the complaint, the minor, a resident of Kolkata's Baguihati area, left home at around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 24, to meet a friend in Birati in North 24 Parganas district. The complaint alleges she was abducted from Birati and taken to a hotel in Bandel, where she was allegedly forced to drink a cold drink spiked with a narcotic substance before several individuals sexually assaulted her. These are allegations in the family's complaint and have not been established by a court.
Source: Nation Press
When the girl did not return home by evening, her mother called her at around 8:30 p.m.; the girl reportedly said she was in Barrackpore with a friend and would return by 11 p.m., after which calls went unanswered. Later that night the mother received a call from an unknown number from a man who claimed he had found the girl crying on a street. At 12:06 a.m. on Sunday the minor sent her mother a text message saying she was in danger and that a friend had taken her to the house of a person identified only as 'Rik'. Shortly afterwards, a man identified in reporting as Debjit Sarkar — named in the complaint — allegedly telephoned the mother and assured her that her daughter was safe and would be sent home by car.
Source: IANS via The Freedom Press
The girl returned home at around 10:30 a.m. on Sunday in a distressed state. According to the complaint, she told her family she had been taken to an acquaintance's house, drugged until she lost consciousness, physically tortured and sexually assaulted by several individuals. The family further alleges that the accused filmed the assault and later sent the video clip to the mother to demand ransom and threaten the family against approaching the police, which, according to the complaint, delayed the filing of the FIR until Tuesday.
Source: Nation Press
In her complaint, the mother named several individuals as accused, including a female acquaintance of her daughter. No arrests or detentions had been made at the time of reporting, and police said operations were underway to trace and apprehend all those named in the complaint. Awaaz Punjab is not naming or identifying the minor victim, in line with the law and its minor-safety rules.
Source: IANS via The Freedom Press