A minor girl was allegedly molested by the owner of a tea stall in Madhyamgram’s Rohanda area, in North 24-Parganas, on Saturday night, triggering mob fury that necessitated firing of tear gas shells by police to restore order.
The accused, Abdul Rauf, 32, has been arrested.
A senior officer of the Barasat police district said Rauf, who ran a tea stall not far from his house as well as the girl’s, had allegedly lured the girl with the promise of chocolates and molested her behind the stall.
“He then fled,” the officer said.
“The girl ran back home and narrated the ordeal to her parents. As news of the incident spread in the locality, residents surrounded Rauf’s house and pelted it with stones.”
The husband of a member of the Trinamool-led Rohanda gram panchayat, who allegedly told the girl’s family to settle the matter and keep quiet, was beaten up by the protesters, who also threw bricks at his house, the officer said. The husband was later arrested.
Rahima Ali, the panchayat member, did not answer calls from The Telegraph on Sunday evening.
As cops tried to stop the large group of men and women, they, too, were pelted with stones, the officer said.
Later, a large police team, accompanied by a Rapid Action Force (RAF) contingent, reached the spot and fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.
The Barasat superintendent of police, Pratiksha Jharkhariya, said Rauf has been arrested on the charge of molestation.
“We arrested Rauf after conducting multiple raids in the area. We have also arrested the husband of the local gram panchayat member for intimidating the girl’s family,” said Jharkhariya.
The girl’s father said Rauf lured his daughter inside his shop while she was walking to their family shop.
“Rauf’s shop is not far from our house. I had never thought that a neighbour could do something like this. When my daughter told us about the incident, we were shocked and immediately alerted other neighbours,” the girl’s father said.
A police picket has been posted in the area to prevent any violence over the incident.
