Hours ahead of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's scheduled visit to Birbhum, a decomposed body believed to be that of a missing minor girl, a Class IX student, was recovered from Papuri village, the native village of Birbhum Zilla Parishad president Faizul Haque alias Kajal Sheikh, on Friday evening. The recovery triggered a political uproar and protests by the Bharatiya Janata Party, who are demanding a full investigation into the incident.
The 14-year-old girl from the Nanur police station area had been missing since July 19 after leaving for a tuition class. Despite frantic searches, her family was unable to trace her whereabouts and lodged a formal missing complaint at Nanur police station on July 21.
Police said local residents discovered a decomposed body near a pond on the premises of Alamin Mission in Papuri. “We retrieved the body and initially sent it to Bolpur Subdistrict Hospital. The victim’s father later identified the body based on a veil the girl was wearing. We will conduct a DNA test to establish the deceased’s identity,” said a police officer.
However, due to the severely decomposed state of the body, it was later shifted to Rampurhat Medical College and Hospital for a more thorough post-mortem. The police have also collected DNA samples from the family for confirmation. Police have declined to comment on whether there are marks of injury on the body until the autopsy report is available.
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Meanwhile, BJP leaders and supporters gathered in large numbers outside the Bolpur Subdistrict Hospital mortuary, staging angry protests and chanting slogans against the police, accusing them of inaction and attempted cover-up. They allege that the proximity of the crime scene to the residence of Kajal Sheikh has influenced police behaviour.
BJP's Nanur Mandal President Khokan Das said, “The Chief Minister is coming to Bolpur. Before that, a minor girl has been raped and murdered. And the police are trying to suppress it. The body was found in the village of the Zilla Parishad President. More pressure is being exerted by the administration. We demand a full investigation. If not, we will launch a larger agitation soon.”
The incident has cast a shadow over the Chief Minister’s scheduled programs in Bolpur on July 28 and 29. While state BJP leaders continue to press for accountability, the ruling TMC leadership in Birbhum has remained silent on the matter as of now.
The tragic death of the minor girl has not only intensified political tensions but also raised serious questions about women’s safety and police responsiveness in the region.
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