Student (girl) Raped by Muslim teacher in West Bengal

Date: 10-30 AM, date not mentioned
Village: Bamunpukur
Panchayat:
Police Station: Nabadwip
Block:
Sub-division:
District: Nadia
State: West Bengal
Source: The Telegraph [6th August, 2007, Monday]


THE TELEGRAPH REPORT


A meeting of village elders led by the CPM panchayat chief let off with a
fine a young man who raped his 10-year-old student. The culprit - first-year
BA student Mizanur Biswas - was told to pay Rs 2,000 at Bamunpukur village
in Nadia's Nabadwip last Tuesday. The 19-year-old would have got away by
paying the fine had it not been for the victim's parents, who thought it was
a shame to compromise and refused to accept the money. The girl's father,
Bidyut Das, a carpenter, lodged an FIR against Mizanur yesterday. The
Nabadwip College student is absconding. His father is an affluent man,
owning two shops - a stationery shop and a grocery - in Mayapur.


Police said Mizanur called Rani (name changed), a Class IV student, to his
house for tuition around 10.30am, when his parents were away shopping. The
girl returned home bleeding and crying about an hour later. "She was visibly
in pain. But she could not express herself properly when we repeatedly asked
her what had happened," said Bidyut. Rani was taken to the Nabadwip State
General Hospital. "The medical report has confirmed rape. We have started a
rape case against Mizanur and are looking for him," said Pradyut Banerjee,
the inspector in charge of Nabadwip police station.


Mizanur's father Rafique, who is known for his close contacts with local CPM
leaders, had sought the Bamunpukur village panchayat's help. The village boy
called the shalishi - a conciliatory meeting. Such meetings to discuss
criminal complaints are illegal. So, the chief, Ayan Nabi Sheikh, convened
an unofficial meeting with some other villagers. It was evident from the
outcome of the meeting that their objective was to bail out Mizanur. "The
boy (Mizanur) told us that he caned the girl for not learning her lessons
properly and beat her up with a cane," said Ayan, also a CPM local committee
member. "We decided to fine the boy Rs 2,000 for the girl's medical
expenses. But I don't know what happened later," he added.


Inspector Banerjee confirmed that bruises on the girl's body indicated that
she had been caned. "But she bled from her private parts and the doctor who
examined her confirmed rape," he added. Bidyut and his wife Swapna put their
foot down after hearing the shalishi's verdict. "We may be poor, but how can
money compensate what happened to our daughter?" asked Swapna.