Prime accused behind woman’s death in West Bengal’s Krishnanagar taken into seven-day police custody, SIT formed

The accused youth was arrested today based on a complaint filed by the victim’s family; he was allegedly in a relationship with the deceased victim

The prime accused behind the alleged rape and murder of a young woman, whose half-burnt body was found in Krishnanagar in West Bengal’s Nadia district on Wednesday, has been taken into seven days police custody, the Assistant Director General (ADG) of Police, South Bengal, Supratim Sarkar said on Thursday.

The accused youth, Rahul Basu, was arrested on Thursday (October 17, 2024) based on a complaint filed by the victim’s family. He was allegedly in a relationship with the victim.

“We found out that the accused was familiar to the victim. We produced him in court today and the court granted seven days police custody,” Mr Sarkar said. He added that the accused was interrogated once on Wednesday and will undergo further questioning.

Mr. Sarkar also said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to investigate the case and that the police are also taking help from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

“The SIT is being headed by Krishnanagar Police District Superintendent Shri Amarnath K. We are investigating all possible angles and causes behind the incident,” the police officer further said, adding that a forensic examination of the site will also be conducted.

In accordance with the bereaved family’s wishes, the post-mortem of the woman’s body was conducted in the presence of a judicial magistrate at the College of Medicine and Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial (JNM) Hospital in Kalyani on Thursday.

A doctor, who was part of the post-mortem, addressed the media on Thursday and said “primary antemortem burns by fire” have been found, adding that so far there is no evidence of burn by acid. Antemortem burns are burn injuries that occur before death.

The victim, a Class 12 student, was missing since she left her Krishnanagar home on October 15. The family alleged that she had left home with the accused, who, they believe, had raped and murdered her by pouring acid with the help of others.

In response to the possibility of the victim’s family seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Mr. Sarkar said: “The family is grieving, they have gone through a heartwrenching tragedy. We will respect any wishes they might have.”

Since the discovery of the victim’s body, protests erupted among locals and Opposition party members over the lack of safety of women.

Published - October 17, 2024 11:09 pm IST