Police to seek fresh remand of 13 gangrape accused

Police will today seek fresh remand of the 13 accused in the shocking gangrape case of a tribal woman in Birbhum district, a day after the West Bengal government shunted out the district SP for failing to seek their remand.

 

"The 13 accused will be produced at 2 PM in the court today. We have applied for their police remand," Public Prosecutor Ranjit Ganguly said.

 

Bolpur Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate Pijush Ghosh had yesterday remanded them to 14 days of judicial custody.

 

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee yesterday shunted out Birbhum Superintendent of Police C Sudhakar for failing to seek police remand for the 13 accused in the gang-rape of the tribal girl that has sparked public outrage.

 

Meanwhile, the tribal woman, who was allegedly gangraped on the orders of a kangaroo court at Labhpur in Birbhum district, was today examined by a medical team at Suri hospital.

 

Hospital sources said she was stable and taking food.

 

West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan had advocated corporal punishment for the culprits.

 

The woman's family, in their complaint, said that she was gang-raped after a 'salishi sabha' or kangaroo court decided to punish her on January 21.

 

She said that among those who brutalised her were people old enough to be her father.

 

The woman and her paramour were caught, tied to a tree and assaulted after which they were asked to pay a fine of Rs 50,000. The gang-rape took place after the girl said that she was unable to pay.

 

"The morol (village headman) ordered that I be 'enjoyed' by the men of the village. Following his orders, at least 13 people, including (some) members of a single family, continuously raped me. I lost count of how many times I was raped," said the victim.