Police nab 17-year-old for 2-year-old’s rape-murder

Kolkata: A 17-year-old has been apprehended for allegedly raping and murdering a two-year-old in Tangra on April 23 this year. An FIR was filed at the Tangra police station 41 days after the incident, only after the final postmortem report stated on June 2 that the child was physically abused and then murdered.The incident occurred around 3 pm on April 23. The girl's body was found on the stairs of an under-construction building, around 500m from Tangra police station. The body was retrieved by Tangra police and the child was declared dead at Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College Hospital.The apprehended minor was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to a safe home, said an official. Police said the girl was found lying in the under-construction building by her parents, who then took her to the hospital.Stating that there was no delay in registering the FIR, cops said that initially the case was registered as an unnatural death case, as the child's family had originally claimed that she fell to her death. After the post mortem report, Tangra police started an investigation and then apprehended the suspect, claimed an officer.Due to the absence of CCTV cameras at the scene, cops had a difficult time during the probe. They initially suspected the masons and labourers working at the construction site, and they began investigating if any of them suddenly disappeared. Eventually, source information and prolonged surveillance led to the arrest of the accused.Senior officers stated that a specialised team from the homicide department of the detective department was working jointly with the local police to solve the case. Locals had initially expressed outrage over the delay in filing the rape and murder charges, but police maintained that they had to wait for conclusive medical evidence to alter the sections of the case.