Bengal man commits suicide after wife's 'rapist' goes free

Unable to bear the ignominy of seeing the youth who had allegedly raped his wife go free, a man in West Bengal's Hooghly district committed suicide, his family said. Police maintained there was no evidence against the accused.

 "Despite our complaint, the police released him (alleged rapist) the very same day he was arrested. He used to threaten us with dire consequences after we filed the complaint. My husband could not bear this and committed suicide," said the victim who was allegedly raped April 12.

The man hanged himself to death late Wednesday night at Chinsurah, some 50 km from Kolkata.

Following a complaint, the alleged rapist was arrested Sunday but released after a few hours. "There was no evidence against the person who was named in the complaint. We are investigating the matter," said an officer of Chinsurah police station.

The officer, however, refused to comment if the alleged victim underwent a medical examination to ascertain rape.