Police guard Ritu case

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Aug. 16: A girl who was forcibly kept in the Hansagiri red-light area here, has agreed to appear as an eye-witness in Ritu Taneja’s case. The Haryana girl, Ritu Taneja, was allegedly set ablaze by the brothel owners for refusing to take to prostitution on 13 August. Police have kept the eye-witness under their protection. The girl, who had agreed to appear as an eyewitness, wished to return home after the case is over, said Malda SP Mr Dilip Mondal. It was learnt that the accused persons named in the FIR, including a female leader of the Hansagiri red-light area, were not found at their homes. Police is, however, trying to track them down on the charge of setting Ritu Taneja on fire alive. It was the locals who extended help to Ritu on 13 August, while she was fleeing from the flesh trade racketeers with burns on her body and immediately rushed her to the Malda district hospital where she succumbed to her injuries on 14 August. Ritu was allegedly lured with better job prospects by some girls and brought to this place, a senior police officer said. Police have asked the family members of Ritu Teneja to take charge of her body. Police conducted postmortem after her death. Owing to Ritu’s sudden death, police could not collect exact information about the chain of racketeers involved in inter-state flesh trade. The other girl, who is under police shelter, is providing information to police to bust the flesh trade racket operating in the Hansagiri Lane red light area at English Bazaar town.