The CBI officials investigating the Hanshkhali rape and murder case, visited the house of the prime accused Brojo, son of the Trinamul Congress panchayat member, Samar Goyali, today and broke open the door of the room where the minor girl was allegedly gang raped.

The central agency officials accompanied by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) team carried out an investigation to collect samples from the room. It has been learnt from CBI sources that they have collected a blood stained bed sheet from there. The officials also examined every room of the house to collect evidence if found. CRPF personnel were present outside the house to maintain the sanctity of the crime scene and to prevent people from entering. The sample collection holds extreme significance, given that the victim’s body was immediately cremated after her rape and subsequent demise.

The central agency team reached Hanshkhali at around 4.30 pm today and they were in two groups. One group visited the house of the victim and another group along with forensic officials went to the houses of the accused. The team also visited the house of another accused Prabhakar Poddar and broke open the door of the house. The forensic team carried out an operation to collect evidence from here also. In both cases, the family members of the accused are absconding and their houses were locked from outside.

The team which visited the house of the victim could not talk with the parents as they were busy performing funeral ceremony rituals. But, later the CBI officials carried out investigation and reconstructed the scene from the beginning of the incident when the minor reached her house on the day of incident, consequently the sequences she faced and how her body carried out to the crematorium.

The CBI officials recorded the whole reconstruction on the basis of the revelations made by the parents and family members and conducted videography. The central agency team also went to the local unregistered crematorium where the minor girl was burnt allegedly by the accused. During investigation, they have collected three charred remains of bones from the premises of the crematorium; a CBI source said adding that the collected samples would be sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) for examination.

Meanwhile, amidst the investigation of the CBI, local residents were allegedly threatened by the ruling party leaders. As a result, no priest (purohit) dared to conduct the funeral ceremony of the deceased minor. Later, the CPIM leaders headed by the former panchayat pradhan Bishnu Biswas and Mahadeb Mandal arranged a purohit (priest) Ashok Banerjee from a neighbouring village who later performed the rituals.

A seven-member team of Save Democracy visited the house of the victim and they talked with the parents of the victim. Condemning the heinous crime, Dipali Bhattacharya, one of founder members of the organization criticized the state government saying that the medieval darkness has descended on the state.