Minor girl found hanging inside club room

The body of a minor girl, who was missing since Tuesday, was found inside a club room situated in a market complex at Ratua in Malda. Local people broke open the door on Friday and recovered the body which was hanging from the ceiling fan.

The victim's family members alleged that she was murdered after being gang-raped.

The victim used to stay at her maternal uncle's house and she went missing after leaving the house on Tuesday morning.

She left home saying that she had to go to a friend's house. She did not return till late in the evening much to her family members' worries. They went to the police after failing to find her in any of her friends or relatives' house.

The search continued but none of her friends could give any information about the victim. On Friday morning, some local people broke open the door of the club and found the girl hanging from the ceiling fan. They informed the police and the body has been sent for an autopsy.

Her family members alleged that the girl was kidnapped and taken to an abandoned house and she was kept there till the night. She was taken inside the club room on the same day where the accused allegedly gang-raped her, alleged the family.

Her family members also alleged that the accused had killed their daughter thinking that she would lodge a complaint against them which would lead to their arrests.

The room, where the body was found along with some of its adjacent area were cordoned off. No one was allowed to enter the area for the sake of investigation.

The incident led to a tension in the area as the victim's family members and relatives demanded the arrests of the accused. Though the family members were yet to identify the accused, they suspect that some youth from the adjacent village along with some local people committed the crime.

The family members alleged that some youth used to keep a tab on the girl. Thus, the victim's family members suspect the same youth to be behind the crime. Meanwhile, the police will interrogate some local people in this connection.