3 more held in girl’s death during ‘violent celebration’ of Kaliganj bypoll results

Three more persons were arrested in connection with the death of a girl in a bomb explosion during an alleged violent celebration of the Kaliganj bypoll results in West Bengal’s Nadia district, police said on Tuesday.

The total number of arrests in the death of the minor is now four, a senior officer said.

The 13-year-old school student was killed on Monday in the Malandi village of Barochandgar area in Nadia district after bombs were allegedly hurled from a Trinamool Congress (TMC) victory celebration rally taken out even before the results of the Kaliganj assembly bypoll were officially announced.

“One person was arrested earlier. Three more were apprehended in connection with the case,” the officer said.

All four have been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including the offence of rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, and culpable homicide, he said.

“The four people are prime accused in the killing of the girl in Kaliganj’s Malandi in Nadia district. We have enough evidence against them. We are looking for others who are involved in the incident,” the senior officer of the Krishnanagar Police District said.

The police said Tamanna Khatun suffered splinter injuries and was declared dead on arrival when taken to the nearest medical facility.

“The girl’s body has been sent for post-mortem examination. We are probing into the cause of the explosion,” the police officer said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee directed the police to take strict legal action against the culprits.

Trinamool Congress candidate Alifa Ahmed won the bypoll to the Kaliganj Assembly seat by a landslide margin of 50,049 votes over her nearest BJP rival Ashish Ghosh.

The bypoll was necessitated by the sudden demise of sitting TMC MLA and Alifa’s father Nasiruddin Ahamed in February.