Daijiworld Media Network - Howrah
Howrah, Jul 16: A 16-year-old Class 10 schoolgirl was allegedly stabbed to death by a man who had been stalking her after she repeatedly rejected his advances in West Bengal's Howrah district on Wednesday evening.
The victim was returning home on a bicycle from her tuition class at around 7.00 pm when the accused, identified as 24-year-old Samir Das, allegedly intercepted her and launched a brutal knife attack.
According to police and eyewitnesses, Das stabbed the teenager multiple times in the neck, hands and stomach.
"The girl was cycling back from her tuition class when the youth suddenly blocked her path. Before anyone could react, he pulled out a knife and began stabbing her indiscriminately. She collapsed on the road," a police officer said.
Local residents overpowered the accused and thrashed him before handing him over to the nearest police station. The injured girl was initially taken to a private hospital and later shifted to the Howrah District Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries late on Wednesday night.
Police said Das, a native of Murshidabad district who works at a factory in Howrah, had allegedly been pursuing the teenager for a long time. Preliminary investigation indicates that the attack was an act of retaliation after the girl repeatedly rejected his marriage proposals.
"We have taken the accused into custody, and a murder investigation is underway," a senior police officer said.
The accused, who sustained injuries after being assaulted by the public, remains hospitalised under strict police security.
The incident comes close on the heels of the alleged gangrape and murder of an 11-year-old girl in Baruipur near Kolkata. One of the accused in that case, Prabhash Mondol, was killed in a police encounter after allegedly snatching a policeman's firearm during the reconstruction of the crime.
The Howrah murder also follows another recent case in Sodepur in North 24 Parganas district, where a man identified as Subhas Das allegedly murdered his estranged wife, Geeta Das, in broad daylight before attempting suicide by stabbing himself. He suffered serious injuries in the incident.
The back-to-back crimes against women have intensified public concern and placed the Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government under pressure just months after it assumed office by defeating the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress in the state Assembly elections held in May.
Amid mounting outrage over the recent incidents, Kolkata Police have introduced a five-point Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to eliminate administrative delays in handling Zero FIRs. A Zero FIR allows a complaint to be registered at any police station irrespective of where the offence occurred.
Under the new directive, the Officer-in-Charge registering a Zero FIR must personally coordinate with the police station having jurisdiction over the case to ensure its seamless transfer, along with all relevant details and the complainant's contact information.
"It has been observed that there is an inordinate delay in filing of FIR after registration of Zero FIR within the jurisdiction of Kolkata Police as well as neighbouring districts. Such delays adversely impact the timely disposal of criminal cases and the effective administration of criminal justice," the official order stated.