The Bharatiya Janata Party’s state unit Sunday approached the National Human Rights Commission seeking a probe into the alleged gang rape and murder of a minor in West Bengal’s Madhyamgram town in North 24-Parganas district.
In a letter to the commission, the BJP accused the Mamata Banerjee-led state government of “living in denial”, and urged a probe into the alleged attempt of the state police to “forcibly cremate” the minor’s body as well as the role of the hospital where the girl died after allegedly being set on fire.
The girl was raped by a gang allegedly twice in October, and was rushed to state run RG Kar Hospital Dec 23 with severe burn injuries where she died Dec 31, 2012.
In her dying declaration she had indicted two persons of setting her ablaze.
“Despite repeated requests, the victim was not shifted to a specialised burn unit and since the parents did not have resources to avail of private medical care, the victim met the sorry fate,” read the letter signed by BJP state secretary Ritesh Tiwari.
The incident has attracted severe criticism from political circles as well as from the civil society after the family alleged that the police “hijacked” the girl’s body and forcibly attempted to cremate it.
The commission has also been urged to probe the role of the police who failed to provide security to the girl after she was first gang raped.
Earlier, the victim’s family met President Pranab Mukherjee seeking a death penalty for the perpetrators and Sunday left for Patna to meet Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Nitish Kumar had announced a compensation of Rs.1 lakh to the family.