Malda: Amid numerous candlelight vigils demanding ‘Justice for Shristi’ in English Bazar for the last few days, Yashabanti Sreemany, member of West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights, visited the bereaved family at North Baluchar on Saturday evening. On Sunday afternoon, a 2-member team of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) also met the family.
Sreemany held a meeting with the concerned officials investigating the case of the brutal murder of Shristi Keshri on January 29 evening by her cousin. 11-year-old Shristi went missing on January 29 from North Baar, Malda. Her severed head and body were recovered from two places 50 meters apart on January 31.
Though the police succeeded in arresting the culprit within 48 hours of the incident, they are yet to recover the murder weapon. The police are also making arrangements for the reconstruction of the incident and to find out if others were involved or not. Sreemany said: “The police are handling both the law and order enforcement in the locality and carrying out the investigation deftly. The accused is opening up very slowly and a psychiatric checkup has been recommended. Then, possibly the police can be sure of the motive behind such a crime and also can recover the murder weapon. We also think that punishment for such heinous crimes should be exemplary so that people fear the law. As per the post-mortem report, no sexual offence was found.”
Since February 1, many silent rallies have been held by residents of English Bazar. Sukanta Majumder, state president of BJP, also visited the family on Sunday and alleged a lack of proper investigation by the police. Majumder said: “The incident triggered a huge reaction among the masses and we want a high-level investigation of the matter to ascertain the motive and the involvement of any other or not.”
Subhamay Basu, District spokesperson of TMC, said: “This is West Bengal and investigation is done here in every case. We don’t let loose rapists like in Uttar Pradesh. We don’t need any certificate from BJP. “
Sourabh Chakraborty, a local of North Baluchar, said: “We want justice for the little girl and her bereaved parents and not petty politics.”