1 held in Taneja case

Statesman News Service

MALDA Aug. 17: Police arrested a woman brothel owner today allegedly for killing a Haryana girl, Ritu Taneja on 13 August at Hansagiri Lane, English Bazaar. The victim was allegedly set ablaze by the arrested person and her accomplices following her refusal to taking to prostitution. The police were looking for the alleged culprits since Sunday night after they fled their homes. On receiving information about the victim’s fate, the brother and father of Ritu arrived at Malda today and met the police. The Malda SP, Mr Dilip Mondal, said that proper action would be taken against the culprits to discourage such inhuman acts in future. The Malda unit of the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights has also taken up the issue and has decided to launch a protest programme against the incident.The APDR convened a meeting yesterday and decided to apprise the National Human Rights Commission and the state human rights commission, Haryana and other authorities concerned about the incident. The APDR has also decided to make its own investigation into the matter and prepare a report on how the brothel functioned with the help of traffickers and forced girls including minors into flesh trade. Mr. Goutam Choudhury, executive committee member of Malda APDR, said : “Many girls have been killed here when they refused to take to prostitution. The victims were cremated without arousing suspicion. No body knows what exactly has been happening here all these years. This is the first time an incident has come to light.”“We would submit our investigation report to the human rights commission demanding proper inquiry into the case and an appeal to check such crime in future,” Mr Choudhury said.