NB High Madrassah in Jalalpur village
under Manikchak police station today resembled a war-like situation
following allegation of molestation on a five-year old girl was raised
against an IRB jawan. Hundreds of villagers mobbed the Madrassah, where
the accused was put up along with other IRB personnel.
According to sources, local children
from the village had gone to a mango orchard adjacent to the Madrassah
to pick ripe mangoes. The accused IRB jawan allegedly lured the girl
with a chocolate and molested her. It was also learnt the accused was
trying to take obscene picture with the minor girl. However, an alarm
was raised by the other children and villagers who saw the incident.
Although the jawan managed to flee the
scene, the villagers rushed to the Nababdi Biswas High Madrassah and
threatened to shoot if the Jawan was not handed over. As the situation
deteriorated further police were called. Officer in-charge of Manikchak
police station, Ashutosh Pal, responded and reached the spot with large
contingent of police. They had to resort to a mild lathi charge to bring
the situation under control. Sensing the situation could worsen
further, the OC also summoned RAF and additional police forces.
After a few anxious moments, the police
and RAF were successful in driving out the villager away from the
Madrassah, while the IRB jawans were kept confined to their rooms. The
IRB unit was temporarily staying at the Madrassah after completing its
duty for the first phase of the election and was waiting for its second
deployment. The district police have decided to shift the IRB jawans to a
different location to avoid any further altercations.
Meanwhile, a police complaint was lodged
by the child’s mother at the Manikchak police station. Malda SP Rupesh
Kumar confirmed about the complaint and said the police were looking
into the matter.(EOI)