Kharjuna comes to a standstill

The villagers took out a peace procession,in which many women participated,demanding a CBI inquiry into the case.

They said they did not have faith in the state police as far as a fair investigation was concerned. “We have seen what the state police had to say. Can we expect the police to conduct a fair inquiry?” asked the brother of the victim.

Kharjuna village was up in arms after the body of a woman was found at an abandoned health centre on Sunday morning and medical tests established that she was raped before being murdered.

What fuelled the anger of the villagers was the Murshidabad Superintendent of Police’s alleged statement that the married woman was not gangraped but had consensual sex with her paramour.

The State Human Rights Commission has started a suo motu inquiry and asked the ADG to submit a report within three weeks.

“We have started an investigation after the victim’s husband complained that the police indulged in her character assassination,” commission joint secretary Sujay Kumar Haldar said.

CPM leader and district president Purnima Das visited the place and said the state should take steps against the police officers who had made mindless comments,maligning the character of the woman.