Barasat/Kolkata: A wanted criminal was
arrested on Thursday in connection with the murder of 16-year-old
Rajib Das by some drunken youths at Barasat town in North 24
Parganas district.
Chandan Roy was arrested from his hideout at Habra in
North 24-Parganas district, police said. He had earlier faced
arrests on charges of robbery and drug peddling.
West Bengal Home Secretary G D Goutama said the
arrested youth was being interrogated by CID and police for
stabbing to death Das who had resisted the drunken hoodlums
from molesting his sister.
Goutama said after a meeting with Chief Minister
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, where the chief secretary and DG were
also present, that more people would be arrested soon.
He said reports of the district magistrate and the SP
had reached the government.
DIG (Presidency Range) Siddhinath Gupta said, "Roy
will be taken to the place, where the crime took place, to
reconstruct the murder scene before being produced at the
court tomorrow."
Rajib`s sister Rinku Das, who was present with her
brother during the incident, was taken to the police station
to identify the accused, a senior police officer said.
A 12-hour bandh called by Opposition SUCI in the area
today evoked good response. While Trinamool Congress did not
oppose the bandh, Congress threw its support to it.
Seventy-nine Trinamool supporters were arrested for
demonstrating in front of the state secretariat demanding
Chief Minister Bhattacharjee`s resignation. Later they were
released on bail.
In the morning Tourism Minister Manab Mukherjee`s car
was held up for some time at Madhyamgram in the district today
when a Trinamool Congress procession was passing by, police
said.
Faced with a massive public outcry, the state
government had yesterday asked the state CID to probe Rajib`s
killing.
The chief minister yesterday visited Rajib`s residence
and met his parents, sister and grandmother yesterday as the
brutal murder quickly took on a political colour with the
Congress demanding Bhattacharjee`s resignation.
Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy also visited the
residence.
PTI
