NEW DELHI, Oct 21: The body of 11-year old niece of infamous Sanjay Roy, the sensational rapist and murderer of the on-duty trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata last year, was found partially hanging in a cupboard in her house in Bhowanipore locality on Tuesday.
The enraged local people thrashed the girl’s father and her stepmother allegedly for “torturing” the fifth standard student. The couple, Bhola Singh and his wife Pooja, who were allegedly trying to flee their residence, were confronted by neighbours and attacked in a display of public outrage after they accused the duo of torturing the child physically and mentally at home, a senior police officer said.
Eyewitnesses said locals dragged the stepmother by her hair and beat her, while the father was also thrashed with shoes. Police reached the spot and escorted the couple to the local Alipore police station after rescuing them from the agitated neighbours.
Police said Bhola had earlier married Babita, the elder sister of Sanjay Roy, and Suranjana was their only child. After Babita committed suicide a few years ago, Bhola Singh married her younger sister, Pooja. The girl, a class 5 student, was found hanging from a hanger inside a wardrobe with a piece of clothing tied around her neck and was discovered in that state after her stepmother returned home from outside. She was taken to the SSKM hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival.
Neighbours alleged that the parents routinely abused the girl, both physically and mentally. “The child was often thrown out of the house at night, even as late as 2 am. The mistreatment had left her deeply traumatised,” one of the neighbours alleged. The victim’s grandmother alleged that the parents used to beat her up with belts, and her head was often banged against walls under one pretext or the other.
As per the preliminary autopsy report of the girl received by police did not rule out a murder as well. “Initial probe suggested suicide. However, a possible homicide is not being ruled out,” the officer said, adding that they were waiting for the detailed post-mortem examination and forensic reports to ascertain the exact cause of death.
(Manas Dasgupta)