Amta Trinamool leader held for twin gang rapes - The Times of India
Amta Trinamool leader held for twin gang rapes
HOWRAH: A local-level Trinamool Congress leader, who is also the prime accused in the twin Amta gang rape case, was arrested early on Sunday after managing to dodge the police for five days.
Barun Makhal, 36, was picked up from his aunt's home in Gadiara's Kamalpur as police zeroed in on him with cell phone intercepts. Makhal, who police believes had masterminded the ghastly crime, claims he has nothing to do with it and has even provided an alibi.
A Howrah court remanded Makhal in 10 days' police custody. Prima facie probe indicates that though Makhal may not have raped the two women, he had a big role to play in planning and instigating. Police, however, confirmed that charges can still be slapped on him for it is also a crime to witness such an act, let alone conspire to do it.
Makhal claims politics played a pivotal role in this "frame-up". He says he was with his aunt when the incident took place, far away from the Amta village.
Makhal had fought panchayat polls from the village's booth number 71 on a Trinamool ticket. He was defeated. In fact, Trinamool lost both the gram panchayat and panchayat samiti here to CPM. For several months since, according to locals, Makhal has been leading a concerted effort to gain a toehold here. This was fast-tracked after he got a contract to develop village roads under the MGNREGA. Villagers did not accept the manner in which Makhal was allegedly allotting work to his own men and ignoring common villagers. This led to a skirmish on December 17, 2013.
The FIR lodged by a woman on February 5 says that the previous night she was asleep with her daughter-in-law, sister-in-law and four-year-old granddaughter when assailants led by Makhal stormed into her house and raped the two former women, aged 27 and 40. Not only were they gang-raped, the women were brutally assaulted. She named seven others - all of whom were arrested on the day of the complaint - and four to five others, who she couldn't identify.
Trinamool organized a huge rally in Amta on Saturday, parading on stage the survivors' kin who proclaimed their faith that the culprits will be brought to book. MP Sultan Ahmed, state law minister Chandrima Bhattacharya and MLA Nirmal Majhi not only spoke at the meet but met the survivors in hospital and assured them of strong action against the culprits. Left Front chairperson Biman Bose met the survivors the day before.
Amta Trinamool leader held for twin gang rapes
HOWRAH: A local-level Trinamool Congress leader, who is also the prime accused in the twin Amta gang rape case, was arrested early on Sunday after managing to dodge the police for five days.
Barun Makhal, 36, was picked up from his aunt's home in Gadiara's Kamalpur as police zeroed in on him with cell phone intercepts. Makhal, who police believes had masterminded the ghastly crime, claims he has nothing to do with it and has even provided an alibi.
A Howrah court remanded Makhal in 10 days' police custody. Prima facie probe indicates that though Makhal may not have raped the two women, he had a big role to play in planning and instigating. Police, however, confirmed that charges can still be slapped on him for it is also a crime to witness such an act, let alone conspire to do it.
Makhal claims politics played a pivotal role in this "frame-up". He says he was with his aunt when the incident took place, far away from the Amta village.
Makhal had fought panchayat polls from the village's booth number 71 on a Trinamool ticket. He was defeated. In fact, Trinamool lost both the gram panchayat and panchayat samiti here to CPM. For several months since, according to locals, Makhal has been leading a concerted effort to gain a toehold here. This was fast-tracked after he got a contract to develop village roads under the MGNREGA. Villagers did not accept the manner in which Makhal was allegedly allotting work to his own men and ignoring common villagers. This led to a skirmish on December 17, 2013.
The FIR lodged by a woman on February 5 says that the previous night she was asleep with her daughter-in-law, sister-in-law and four-year-old granddaughter when assailants led by Makhal stormed into her house and raped the two former women, aged 27 and 40. Not only were they gang-raped, the women were brutally assaulted. She named seven others - all of whom were arrested on the day of the complaint - and four to five others, who she couldn't identify.
Trinamool organized a huge rally in Amta on Saturday, parading on stage the survivors' kin who proclaimed their faith that the culprits will be brought to book. MP Sultan Ahmed, state law minister Chandrima Bhattacharya and MLA Nirmal Majhi not only spoke at the meet but met the survivors in hospital and assured them of strong action against the culprits. Left Front chairperson Biman Bose met the survivors the day before.
