JOIN USThe police on Wednesday arrested a man in his 30s for repeatedly raping two minor inmates of a women’s welfare home at Cooch Behar in West Bengal.
The matter came to light after the accused impregnated one of the girls.
The authorities came to know about it after the 12-year-old pregnant girl broke down before a team of state Child Welfare Committee (CWC), which was visiting on a routine enquiry. While talking to the team members she identified Kachua Miyan, a Group-D staff at the home, as the rapist. The man has been raping her for the last four months, she said. Further enquiries revealed that Kachua has been molesting another girl, who is 14 years old.
“The police have arrested Kachua who is around 37 years old. He is also accused of molesting another girl,” said Superintendent of Police Sunil Yadav. Officials said that Kachua worked as a contractual cleaning staff at the home. Home authorities had suspended him after getting to know about the girl’s condition, but the matter was hushed up. He was arrested only after the CWC team lodged a formal complaint with the local police station.
Sources said that the team had received a tip-off from one of the inmates and put the home superintendent under scrutiny for suppressing the matter.
While Yadav said the police case was registered under orders from the court, Women and Child Development Minister Sashi Panja said, “The matter was hushed up. I’ve demanded an explanation from the home superintendent as to why she wanted to keep it a secret. I’ve asked the district magistrate to visit the home and submit a detailed report.”