Mob protests girl's rape, murder in North Dinajpur district

Traffic on National Highway number 31 in West Bengal's North Dinajpur district came to a grinding halt as a mob protested the area, setting ablaze buses and police vehicles, demanding the arrest of the rape culprits.

Raiganj: The suspected rape and subsequent murder of a teenaged girl in North Dinajpur district on Sunday triggered protests in the area with a mob blockading National Highway 31 and setting ablaze government buses and police vehicles, demanding the arrest of the culprits, police officers said here.

The girl was allegedly abducted after she went out of her house at Sonapur village near Siliguri on Sunday morning to answer nature's call. She was found dead after a few hours, and the villagers alleged that she was raped before being murdered.

As police personnel were trying to lift the blockade, the mob set three North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) buses on fire and also set ablaze three police vans, the officers said.

Police reinforcements, including Rapid Action Force, were brought in to lift the blockade and remove the protesters, the officers said.