Police on Tuesday arrested a 50-year-old woman and her daughter on charges of chopping off the tongue of a youth near Prantik in Santiniketan.
“We have arrested two women on charges of cutting off the tongue of a youth. A probe has begun,” said Nagendra Nath Tripathi, the Birbhum police chief.
The police and local sources said Somai Soren, 22, and his friend Mukul Murmu had gone to the house of one Paku Soren, 50, of Fuldanga village near Santiniketan on Monday and consumed liquor together.
“I went to the toilet and when I came back, I found Paku sitting on Somai and cutting off his tongue with a blade. Before I could stop her, she cut down a portion of his tongue. I don’t know what happened during my absence that provoked her to become so cruel,” said Mukul.
Somai was admitted to Bolpur hospital initially and later transferred to Calcutta. The police are yet to find out the missing portion of his tongue. Paku and daughter Rani, 28, were arrested on Tuesday.
A section of villagers accused the woman of practising black magic and the injury was a result of that. The police denied the allegation. “There is no connection with black magic or any such practice. We will find out the actual motive shortly,” said Tripathi.
Accused ‘suicide’
Srikanta Ghosh, who was accused of murdering a middle-aged couple and their 16-year-old daughter on Monday morning, allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a running train near Gobra station in Hooghly district on Tuesday.
Government railway police in Kamarkundu seized the body from the tracks shortly after the incident.
“We don’t know yet which train ran over the youth,” said Apu Das, the Kamarkundu GRP OC.
Srikanta had allegedly killed his cousin Sanjay Ghosh, the latter’s wife Mitali and daughter Shilpa over a property-related dispute on Monday morning. His brother Tapan was also arrested after he had initially gone missing.
“Prime accused Srikanta has committed suicide. We have arrested his brother Tapan and he was remanded in police custody for four days by a court. Investigations are on,” said Amandeep, the Hooghly rural police chief.
