Footballer, aide arrested for raping minor

A footballer with East Bengal and his domestic aide have been arrested for allegedly gang-raping a minor at an apartment in the north Kolkata suburb of Dum Dum late on Tuesday.

Police took Jagpreet Singh and his aide Ravi Singh into custody for the alleged crime.
However, two others said to be involved in the incident –United SC’s Baldeep Singh and a former East Bengal footballer Joseph Singh-- were absconding, an official with Barrackpore Police Commissionerate said.

“Acting on a complaint by the girl’s father who said the alleged crime was committed on Monday afternoon, we arrested Jagpreet Singh and domestic help Ravi Singh and are looking for the other two. A case has been registered under IPC Section 376 against all the four accused named in the complaint by the girl’s father Jitendra Prasad,” a police official said.

Barrackpore Commissioner Sanjay Singh rushed to DumDum police station on Tuesday night to interrogate the arrested duo.

“Initial investigation revealed that Ravi called the girl to the apartment and then the three footballers raped her. The girl has been sent for clinical examination,” an investigating officer said.  

The arrested duo have been produced at Barrackpore sub-divisional court on Wednesday. However, an East Bengal official maintained that Jagpreet was innocent and was in fact with the team for their I-League 6 match against Pune FC at the time of the alleged crime.

“We’re trying to get him released,” the official, who doesn’t want to be named, said.
The United SC, on the other hand, suspended Baldeep and said it will not take any responsibility for the footballer.