Ranaghat rape accused nabbed near Bangla border

KOLKATA: In a breakthrough in the gang-rape case of an elderly nun by robbers at a Ranaghat convent, CID has arrested a Bangladeshi national from near the border. Khalidur Rehman alias Mintu was nabbed from Bangaon railway station, DIG (operations) Dilip Adak confirmed. "He has admitted that he was one of the gang members present at the convent. Further investigation is on to unearth the bigger plot," Adak said.This is the third major arrest in the case.
Sources in CID claimed Mintu had crossed over to Bangladesh immediately after committing the crime. The sleuths, though, believe he had used a genuine passport. "We had information that the accused was trying to sneak back into Bengal and were waiting for him," said an officer.
"Our top priority is to question Mintu about the whereabouts of group leader Milan Sarkar. We hope to update Interpol so that we can arrest him at the earliest," said a source. Another important agenda is to identify the rapist.
"Shaikh Salim, whom we arrested earlier, has said he did not know who the rapist was. Mintu was close to Milan and therefore we hope to ascertain the identity of the rapist from him,' said a source. The other person arrested, Gopal Sarkar, had housed the gang.
A senior CID official said Gopal Sarkar's wife Anita and several of their neighbours from Habra Goalbati were shown CCTV footage of the criminals and they were able to identify most of the robbers. "It was then that she identified Mintu. We might seek their help again," he said.