Hooghly, West Bengal—A shocking case of child brutality has emerged from Tarakeswar, near Kolkata, where a four-year-old girl was kidnapped while sleeping next to her grandmother and subsequently subjected to sexual assault. The horrific incident has triggered outrage and raised serious questions about child safety in the region.
The victim, reportedly belonging to the Banjara community, was sleeping on a cot under a mosquito net at a Railway shed late Friday night. According to police and the family’s statement, the attacker cut through the mosquito net, removing the child without the grandmother’s knowledge around 4 a.m.
The child was discovered hours later on Saturday afternoon near the Tarakeswar railway high drain, found in a pool of blood. She was immediately rushed to Tarakeswar Gramin Hospital, where her condition is reported to be critical.
”She was sleeping with me. Around 4 am, someone took her away. They cut the mosquito net and took her away,” the girl’s distressed grandmother tearfully recounted, pointing to the torn netting.
The Hooghly rural police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
The tragic incident quickly drew political fire, with the Leader of the Opposition in Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, taking to social media to allege that local police had initially hesitated to file the FIR, a claim denied by the ruling government’s representatives. Investigations are currently underway to apprehend the accused in this heinous crime.
