Kolkata, Dec 23 In the Hanskhali gang-rape and murder case from Nadia district, a Ranaghat Sub-Divisional Court on Tuesday sentenced three convicts, including the son of a Trinamool Congress leader, to life imprisonment. The leader himself received a five-year prison term.
The verdict follows Monday’s conviction of nine people in connection with the case. The victim's family members broke down upon hearing the verdict.
Besides Sohail (Braj) Gayali, the son of a Trinamool leader, two other convicted individuals, Prabhakar Poddar and Ranjit Mallick, were sentenced to life imprisonment. All three faced charges of gang rape.
Sohail's father, Trinamool leader Samarendra Gayali, along with Dipto Gayali and another person, were sentenced to five years of imprisonment for destroying evidence.
Neighbour Anshuman Bagchi was accused of intimidating the victim's family, forcing them to take the minor's body to the crematorium, and participating in a conspiracy. He was convicted by the court on Monday and sentenced to three years of imprisonment on Tuesday.
The two minor defendants were granted bail by the court, but they are prohibited from engaging in any criminal activity for the next year. At the same time, the two minors have been each fined Rs 50,000.
A gang rape complaint was filed on April 10, 2022, in the Hanskhali police station area of Nadia's Ranaghat police district. It was reported that a minor girl, invited to a birthday party of the son of a local Trinamool Panchayat member on April 5, was gang-raped.
The Panchayat member's son and several of his friends were accused of committing the gang rape. Furthermore, the victim was allegedly left bleeding in front of her house. After her death, her body was quickly cremated to destroy evidence. This incident caused a huge uproar across the state.
However, regarding the Hanskhali incident, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said, "I heard the girl had an affair! Would you call this rape?"
The victim's family, however, alleged that the minor girl was lured to the birthday party. The girl died the next day due to excessive bleeding. The victim's parents filed a written complaint at the Hanskhali police station. Later, they filed a case in the High Court, alleging police inaction.
The High Court then handed over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court also directed the police to provide adequate security to the victim's family. Following this, the CBI submitted a charge sheet. In that case, the Ranaghat Sub-divisional Court convicted nine people.
Regarding the verdict, the defence lawyer, Raja Dhar, said, “The accused were not subjected to potency tests. There are multiple inconsistencies in the CBI investigation. We will appeal in the higher court."
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