‘Tantrik’, aides held for teen gang rape

KOLKATA: A 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by a tantrik and three of his friends for two-and-a-half months in Behala after she went to him to solve her marital problems. The wife of one of the suspects filmed the rape and threatened to upload the video on porn sites if she did not submit to repeated sexual assaults, say police. Four of the suspects were arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday – Deep Chakraborty, who posed as the tantrik, his aides Santanu Nag and Ashish Dey and Santanu’s wife Mousumi Das Nag. A fifth suspect is absconding. They have been charged with gang rape, intimidation and illegal confinement and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The girl had eloped and married a few months ago but started having conflicts with her husband and returned to her parents in August. Forty-nine-year-old Deep, who stays in the neighbourhood, persuaded her that he could solve her problems with tantric intervention. The victim says in her complaint that Deep called her to a certain location for ‘rituals’ during which he groped her to “decide the right medicine”. Then, the middle-aged tantrik told her that all her problems would be solved if she convinced her husband to wear an amulet and asked her to accompany him to Santanu’s house in order to be “purified”. On August 29, she was taken to Santanu’s Parnasree residence where the other accused had already gathered. They raped her, while Mousumi allegedly filmed the act. The accused then blackmailed her to return to them to be raped or have the video uploaded on porn sites, say police. She was even threatened to move in with Deep for a few days, said an officer. DC-Behala division Subrata Mitra said the girl lodged a complaint on Tuesday and the arrests were made within 24 hours. “She was raped by the accused a few more times in September. When the girl decided that she could not give in to their criminal intentions any more, she confided in her husband, who brought her to police. We promptly lodged a case and arrested the accused,” said a police officer. Three of the accused have been remanded in judicial custody and Ashish will be produced in court on Thursday. The number of rapes has almost doubled in the city since 2008 and molestation tripled, says the latest data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which ranks Bengal No 1 in crimes against women. In 2008, 35 rapes were reported in Kolkata, which rose to 42 the next year. Although it dropped to 32 in 2010, the very next year it shot up to 42, and 2012 was the worst year with 68 rapes cases registered in the city. Molestation cases increased even more alarmingly, from 81 in 2008 to 133 in 2010. And again, 2012 was the worst year, with 377 molestation incidents reported. Cruelty towards women has seen a 200% increase – from 405 in 2008 to 865 in 2012 – giving the city the ignominy of topping cases under Section 498A IPC.Tantrik, aides held for teen gang rape girl gang-raped, marital problems, sexual assault KOLKATA: A 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by a tantrik and three of his friends for two-and-a-half months in Behala after she went to him to solve her marital problems. The wife of one of the suspects filmed the rape and threatened to upload the video on porn sites if she did not submit to repeated sexual assaults, say police. Four of the suspects were arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday – Deep Chakraborty, who posed as the tantrik, his aides Santanu Nag and Ashish Dey and Santanu’s wife Mousumi Das Nag. A fifth suspect is absconding. They have been charged with gang rape, intimidation and illegal confinement and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The girl had eloped and married a few months ago but started having conflicts with her husband and returned to her parents in August. Forty-nine-year-old Deep, who stays in the neighbourhood, persuaded her that he could solve her problems with tantric intervention. The victim says in her complaint that Deep called her to a certain location for ‘rituals’ during which he groped her to “decide the right medicine”. Then, the middle-aged tantrik told her that all her problems would be solved if she convinced her husband to wear an amulet and asked her to accompany him to Santanu’s house in order to be “purified”. On August 29, she was taken to Santanu’s Parnasree residence where the other accused had already gathered. They raped her, while Mousumi allegedly filmed the act. The accused then blackmailed her to return to them to be raped or have the video uploaded on porn sites, say police. She was even threatened to move in with Deep for a few days, said an officer. DC-Behala division Subrata Mitra said the girl lodged a complaint on Tuesday and the arrests were made within 24 hours. “She was raped by the accused a few more times in September. When the girl decided that she could not give in to their criminal intentions any more, she confided in her husband, who brought her to police. We promptly lodged a case and arrested the accused,” said a police officer. Three of the accused have been remanded in judicial custody and Ashish will be produced in court on Thursday. The number of rapes has almost doubled in the city since 2008 and molestation tripled, says the latest data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which ranks Bengal No 1 in crimes against women. In 2008, 35 rapes were reported in Kolkata, which rose to 42 the next year. Although it dropped to 32 in 2010, the very next year it shot up to 42, and 2012 was the worst year with 68 rapes cases registered in the city. Molestation cases increased even more alarmingly, from 81 in 2008 to 133 in 2010. And again, 2012 was the worst year, with 377 molestation incidents reported. Cruelty towards women has seen a 200% increase – from 405 in 2008 to 865 in 2012 – giving the city the ignominy of topping cases under Section 498A IPC.   ——— SOURCE: TIMES OF INDIA