Residents of Hanskhali narrated several instances of alleged atrocities committed by Trinamul Congress leader Samar Gayali — father of Braja Gopal alias Sohail, prime accused in the rape and murder of a minor — in front of CBI DIG Akhilesh Singh when he reached the village on Thursday night.
When Singh went to the scene of crime, where the girl was raped, an elderly woman broke down in front of him and urged him to save her and others in the village from Samar. .
“Sir, I am a relative of Samar... My husband (Asit) is his cousin. Please save us from him and let us live in peace as he and his men have made our lives a hell,” said Shikharani Gayali.
On April 4, Samar’s son Sohail and two of his aides allegedly gang-raped a class IX girl who later died apparently because of excessive bleeding. There are allegations that Samar and his men took over the body of the girl threatening the victim’s parents at gunpoint and burnt the body at an unauthorised crematorium without any death certificate and post mortem.
Shikharani narrated how Samar, an elected member of Gajna panchayat, extracted money from villagers, including his relatives, for various government schemes. “He would take money even for birth or death certificates... He had once tried to kill me and my son,” said the elderly woman.
Several villagers — like Debasish Bagchi — then came forward and narrated their stories in front of Singh, who listened to their plight carefully.
Although none of the complainants had any proof to establish the charges they were levelling on Samar and several villagers admitted in private that they were aligned to the BJP, there was little doubt that a majority of the villagers had been victims of Samar and his men’s highhanded behaviour because of his political clout and connections with police.
“During the past 10 years, a number of officers in charge changed, but the situation remained unchanged as none of the cops showed any courage to book Samar,” said a villager.
Additional SP of Ranaghat Rupantar Sengupta, however, refuted the allegation. “We have a number of cases under investigation against Samar. He was also chargesheeted in the past... Anybody can lodge complaints against him without fear,” he said.
Shikharani Gayali. Telegraph photo
The complaint against Samar in the Hanskhali village, a political scientist said, was nothing new as Bengal has always seen local satraps, even during the time of the Left, running a reign of terror in their fiefs.
“People tolerate such acts in fear... But when the leader is in trouble, they come out and share their stories. I don't know what the CBI probe will reveal, but the fact that the villagers are coming out and fearlessly sharing their stories is encouraging,” said the expert.
While people have been sharing their experience, life in the village, however, is far from normal even so many days after the girl was allegedly raped and then cremated by the goons as policemen were seen camping in front of the houses of the accused.
A source said at least 14 houses — including the one local Trinamul leader Sipra Das, a close associate of Samar — in the area have been put under police protection.
While villagers said that the cops were posted to prevent the possibility of any retaliation by them, the police said that they were guarding the houses to facilitate the CBI's probe.
On Friday, a team of CBI sleuths visited Samar’s residence, the crematorium and also the house of another accused. The team also searched a bush behind Samar’s residence and traced a mobile phone, condoms and "some other material evidence".
At the crematorium, the investigating officers questioned the elderly caretaker Karuna Gayali while collecting burnt remains from the ashes, which will be sent for forensic test.
“We will send all collected samples for a forensic test with a target of obtaining a fast report so that the Calcutta High Court may be appraised by May 2 as directed,” a CBI source said.
