India.- A video that captured two Indian police officers dragging the lifeless body of a minor, allegedly raped and murdered, has sparked outrage on social media and in political circles in the country.
The body of the 17-year-old girl was found in a pond in the Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal, India, on Friday morning, a day after she went missing. Her family alleged that she was gang-raped before being killed, The Indian Express reports with reference to the local Police.
Outrage and accusations to the Police
When the agents arrived at the district to recover the body, they found an agitated crowd that, along with the minor’s family, demanded that those guilty of the crime be punished. The mob blocked the path to the pond and began throwing stones at the officers. In response, police used tear gas, according to the Free Press Journal.
In the midst of these circumstances, two agents moved the body of the minor, holding it by the feet and arms, and left the place running together with another member of the police force, who was guarding them. This moment was captured on video and went viral along with a wave of criticism and indignation on social networks for the disrespectful way in which the agents treated the minor’s body.
In addition, the leader of the West Bengal opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, accused the Police of “suppressing information and diluting evidence” in a tweet. “They are dragging the victim’s body in a very undignified manner,” he wrote when sharing the video. Another Indian politician, Amit Malviya, in this context stressed that the officers “insensibly” dragged the corpse “of an underage rape and murder victim” and stressed that “such haste is often seen when the purpose is to eliminate or dilute the evidence and cover up the crime.
For their part, the Police have stated that they arrested a suspect, identified as Javed Akhtar, an acquaintance of the victim. He has also added that at the moment no marks of injuries were found on the minor’s body and that a bottle of poison was also recovered from the place where her body was found. The investigation of the case is still ongoing.
