A four-year-old girl was kidnapped and sexually assaulted near a train station, sparking outrage and political condemnation. She was reportedly snatched from her bed, where she was sleeping with her grandmother under a mosquito net.
The girl’s family has said the net was cut open before she was taken from her home in the Hooghly district of West Bengal, India, on Friday (November 7). Her disappearance at dawn triggered panic, and after hours of searching, she was found bleeding, unclothed, and injured near a drain by Tarakeswar Train Station. Witnesses said she was naked, had visible bite marks on her face and was bleeding.
The child was rushed to Tarakeswar Rural Hospital for first aid, but relatives accused medical staff of mishandling the case, claiming they failed to alert police despite her condition. The family also alleged they were asked to leave when they later approached the police station.
Authorities subsequently returned the girl to the hospital for further medical tests. A few hours later, police confirmed the arrest of the child’s grandfather in connection with the incident.
Hooghly Rural Supt of Police, Kamnashish Sen, said: “The most shocking revelation in this case is that the complainant himself, the victim’s grandfather, has turned out to be the main accused.”
According to India Today, a five-member Special Investigation Team has been formed to investigate the case after inconsistencies were found in the grandfather’s initial complaint. The accused was produced in court and remanded to judicial custody, with police planning to seek further custody in court.
The incident prompted protests by opposition leaders and party workers, who accused both doctors and police of negligence. Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of Opposition in the Bengal Assembly, sharply criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s administration, alleging that police attempted to suppress the crime to protect the state’s image.
Local legislator Ramendu Singha Roy described the assault as “extremely regrettable” and pointed to lapses in railway security.
He added that while the family may have left the police station in confusion, officials later ensured medical arrangements were in place. A formal complaint has been registered under India’s Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.