On CCTV, Bengal Rape-Murder Accused Seen On Cycle With 12-Year-Old Victim

CCTV footage has emerged in the rape and murder case of a 12-year-old girl in West Bengal's Dinajpur, showing the victim on a cycle with the accused hours before she went missing.

The footage, accessed by NDTV, showed the accused, wearing a pink shirt and black pants, riding the cycle, while the victim sat behind him. He then took her to a secluded spot on the pretext of showing her the Kulik River, where he allegedly raped the girl before killing her.

According to officials, the accused was an acquaintance of the victim, and she used to refer to him as 'Jethu' (uncle).

The girl subsequently went missing.

Investigators learnt that during the victim's family's search for her, the accused took Rs 300 from her father and promised to help locate her.

The girl's naked and partially decomposed body was recovered from a forest near the Kulik River two days later, with her family filing a case of rape and murder.

Ever since then, the accused had been on the run.

On Sunday night, the police, acting on a tip-off that the accused was hiding in the Gouri gram panchayat region, raided the area. According to officials, the accused allegedly opened fire at the police team conducting the raid, reportedly hitting the tyre of the police vehicle. The cops fired in retaliation, injuring the accused.

He was taken to Raiganj Medical College and Hospital, where he was declared dead. 

"We had been searching for the accused for the past four days. Acting on a tip-off, our team traced him in Parapukur near the Bengal-Bihar border. He opened fire at the police team, who retaliated in self-defence," the senior police officer said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, reacting to the encounter, said, "Do police shoot every accused? When someone attacks police, they retaliate in self-defence."

"The government has given the police a free hand in certain cases, including rape and murder, drug trafficking and illegal infiltration from Bangladesh. They have also been told that they need not wait for permission from their superiors to act in such cases. There is absolutely zero tolerance towards these offences," he added.