Hooghly: A four-year-old girl from the Banjara community was abducted and allegedly sexually assaulted near Tarakeshwar in the Hooghly district of West Bengal. The child, who was asleep beside her grandmother under a mosquito net, is now in critical condition in hospital.
According to the family’s account, the girl was lying beside her grandmother on a cot near a railway shed when the perpetrator—whose identity remains unknown—cut through the mosquito net at around 4 am and took her away. The grandmother said she did not realise when the abduction happened. “She was sleeping with me. Someone took her away,” she said, adding that when the child was found, she was naked.
The victim was discovered later that afternoon near a high drain at Tarakeshwar railway station, lying in a pool of blood. She was immediately admitted to the Tarakeshwar Gramin Hospital, where authorities say she remains in a critical condition.
An FIR has been registered under relevant provisions including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) and police investigations are underway to identify and apprehend the perpetrator.
The case has stirred strong political reactions. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sharply criticised the state government led by Mamata Banerjee, claiming that law-and-order is being compromised and that the police attempted to suppress the case rather than act swiftly. The BJP’s West Bengal leader and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari asserted that an FIR was not being registered despite the family’s rush to the station. He stated on social media:
“4-year old girl child has been Raped in Tarkeshwar. Family rushes to Police Station, but FIR not registered! … Tarkeshwar Police busy burying the Crime. This is the True Face of Mamata Banerjee’s free-for‐all regime. A child’s life is shattered, yet the Police are shielding the State’s Fake Law & Order Image, by suppressing the truth.”
The state police have confirmed registration of the case and said investigations have begun. Local officials have not yet released a detailed timeline of their steps or identified any suspects publicly.
Meanwhile, the community the child belongs to, according to the grandmother, has been living on the streets since their homes were demolished, compounding their vulnerability. “Where do we go? We don’t have any homes,” the grandmother said.
This case highlights persistent concerns about child safety and law enforcement responsiveness in West Bengal, and raises questions about preventive measures for vulnerable communities living in informal or street-based settlements.
