Kolkata: A 14-year old girl hanged herself, while her cousin also of the same age in battling for her life at a government hospital after consuming poison, after they were allegedly raped by two neighbours in Cooch Behar’s Mathabhanga-Hazarahaat area on Saturday.
The accused, aged 20, took the girls out on Diwali evening on the pretext of watching a fire cracker competition and then took them to an isolated area and raped them.
“The girls agreed and went with the boys but made the mistake of not informing their family members. On the way, they became suspicious of their intentions and wanted to return home. But two accused allegedly dragged them to a forest area and raped them,” said a police officer.
One of the girls after returning home consumed insecticide and was rushed to the hospital. While other family members were busy nursing the girl, the other victim committed suicide.
“The two accused have been arrested. A rape case has been registered under IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. We have recorded the statement of the victim and are investigating the matter.” The body has been sent for post-mortem examination,” Cooch Behar Superintendent of police Anup Jaiswal said
“There is a lot of shame and guilt associated with rape and women in India, where society tends to blame the girl solely for the rape which leads to such suicidal attempts post such incident. There has been a serious campaign to generate awareness that rape is a crime that is perpetuated against women and the men are guilty not the girls,” said Sanjaya Agarwal, who runs a organisation for development of women in the area.
