Bengal: Nine held guilty in 2022 Hanskhali teen gangrape-death case

Ranaghat (WB), Dec 22 (PTI) A court in West Bengal on Monday convicted nine people in connection with the gangrape of a teenager, who later died of her injuries in 2022 at Hanskhali in Nadia district.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was entrusted with the probe in the case by the Calcutta High Court.

The Ranaghat additional district judge (ADJ) court, pronouncing the nine guilty, said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on Tuesday.

The 14-year-old girl was gangraped on April 4, 2022 during the birthday party of the son of a ruling party panchayat leader.

The girl fell ill and died the next day. Her body was cremated in haste, allegedly under pressure from the accused.

The incident had led to a public outcry and political blame game by opposition parties.

Brajagopal Goali, son of the panchayat leader, along with Prabhakar Poddar and Ranjit Mallick, were accused of gangrape of a woman aged below 16 years under Section 376 DA of IPC and also under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The remaining six accused faced charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including joint liability for acts done in furtherance of common intention and criminal conspiracy. The three main accused were also charged under these IPC sections.

Lawyer Anindya Das had moved the Calcutta High Court seeking transfer of the investigation from the state police to the CBI, citing concerns that the involvement of a ruling party leader’s son could affect a free and fair probe. PTI COR AMR MNB