A 60-year-old BSF inspector attached to the 54th Battalion was on Wednesday night arrested, days before his retirement, for allegedly raping a 34-year-old constable.
Accused inspector Kitab Singh, posted at an outpost near India-Bangladesh border in Nadia’s Krishnaganj, was produced before a court in Krishnagar on Thursday.
The court sent Singh in four days’ police remand. BSF sources said Singh is due to retire on February 28.
The alleged crime occurred on the night of February 18, when Singh reportedly called the constable in connection with some work and raped her inside the border outpost.
Police said the accused inspector was arrested on the basis of the FIR filed on Tuesday by the constable at Bhowanipore police station in south Kolkata. It was forwarded to the Krishnaganj police station, as the alleged crime fell under its jurisdiction.
The constable was taken to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata for a medical examination on Tuesday, but hospital authorities followed protocol and advised her to lodge a police complaint first, which she did.
A Krishnagar police team visited the BSF’s Seemanagar sector camp on Wednesday night and arrested the accused officer. He was later brought to Krishnaganj police station for interrogation.
Prior to Singh’s arrest, the constable was produced before a magistrate in Krishnagar on Wednesday, where her statement was recorded. BSF authorities also suspended Singh.
The BSF set up a high-level inquiry committee to look into the charge.