Teacher held after body of missing Class 7 girl found in Bengal’s Birbhum district

The girl, a member of a tribal community, went missing on August 28 while on her way to a private tutorial class

Kolkata: A school teacher was arrested on Wednesday, a day after the decomposed body of a Class 7 student who had been missing for 20 days was recovered from Rampurhat in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, police said.

(Representative photo)

“A teacher from the school where the girl used to study was taken into custody on Wednesday on the basis of a complaint lodged by the victim’s family. He is being interrogated. It is not yet clear whether the girl was physically abused before being killed,” a police officer said, requesting anonymity.

The Rampurhat court remanded the teacher in police custody for nine days.

The girl, a member of a tribal community, went missing on August 28 while on her way to a private tutorial class, following which her family lodged a complaint at the Rampurhat police station.

Some locals spotted a large sack near a ditch outside Kalidanga village and informed the police on Tuesday night.

The deceased’s mother alleged that the teacher had been harassing her daughter for a long time. “He used to tell her that he would marry her when she becomes an adult. We had told the police about this after she went missing but they did not arrest him then,” the mother said outside the court.

No police officer has commented on the family’s allegations.

“We suspect that the victim was raped for days before being murdered. The police must investigate this and file the charge sheet as fast as possible,” Abhishek Banerjee, the family’s lawyer, said.

Members of the tribal community protested outside the Rampurhat police station for hours on Wednesday, alleging negligence by the authorities.