School girl murdered during rape attempt in north Bengal; suspect arrested

Police said that the 15-year-old Class 11 student was in school uniform when her body was found by local people

A 15-year-old school girl was killed during an attempted rape inside a jungle at Matigara in north Bengal’s Siliguri region on Monday and the prime suspect was arrested in less than 24 hours, police said.

The accused, Muhammad Abbas, 19, was arrested late on Monday night from his home at the local Lenin Colony. (Representative Image)

The accused, Muhammad Abbas, 19, was arrested late on Monday night from his home at the local Lenin Colony. A court in Siliguri remanded him in police custody for two weeks on Tuesday afternoon.

“The Class 11 student was in school uniform when her body was found by local people. Preliminary investigation indicates that she was killed during an attempt of sexual assault. The accused smashed her head with a brick which was recovered from the scene of crime,” Abhishek Gupta, deputy commissioner of police, Siliguri, said.

“The suspect was arrested after studying footages caught on security cameras in the area and information provided by local people and police informers,” Gupta added.

The suspect claimed during interrogation that he and the victim got acquainted a few weeks ago, a police officer connected with the investigation said on condition of anonymity.