Girl abducted from railway shed, 'sexually assaulted' in Bengal's Tarakeshwar; 1 detained

A four-year-old girl was allegedly abducted from a railway shed and “sexually assaulted” at Tarakeshwar in West Bengal’s Hooghly district, officials said on Sunday.

The incident took place on Saturday when the child was asleep beside her grandmother at the railway shed, they said.

The minor was found lying unconscious naked with injury marks near a drain in the area on Saturday afternoon, an official said.

The girl, who reportedly belongs to the Banjara community, was initially taken to a local hospital and later referred to the Chandannagar sub-divisional hospital, he said.

A police officer said one person has been detained in connection with the incident and is being interrogated.

A case has also been registered under the POCSO Act, he said.

Local TMC MLA Ramendu Singha Roy told PTI, “It is a shocking incident, but it took place in an area under the jurisdiction of the Railways. There should be more security measures and surveillance on the part of the rail police. We stand with the girl’s family, and the police have started a probe.” National Commission for Women member Archana Majumdar said it has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident, but “we will examine the legal parametres, as it also comes under the jurisdiction of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. If permitted, I will visit the family in a day or two”.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, alleged that the Tarakeshwar Police were initially reluctant to register an FIR over the incident.

In a post on X, Adhikari accused the police of ''burying the crime'' to shield the state's ''fake law and order image by suppressing the truth”.

''Mamata Banerjee, you are a Failed Chief Minister. Under your rule, West Bengal’s law & order has hit ROCK BOTTOM,'' he alleged in the post.

BJP activists also staged a protest demonstration outside the Tarakeshwar police station, demanding stringent punishment for the perpetrators.