Kolkata, Oct 3 (IANS): Tension is rising in Kultali, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, as the third accused in the alleged gang-rape of a 60-year-old woman remains at large, police said on Friday.
Locals told reporters that two of the accused were apprehended by the community late Tuesday night. The woman was reportedly attacked at her home while she was alone, as her husband was away for an eye surgery. The trio had initially come to steal chickens from a poultry coop attached to the house. When the victim confronted them, the men allegedly dragged her into a room and gang-raped her.
Villagers chased the perpetrators, caught two of them, and handed them over to the police after assaulting them. The arrested accused were produced before a sub-divisional court on Thursday.
According to the victim’s statement, the attackers carried a country-made pistol and a sharp-edged weapon, which they used to threaten her during the crime.
Police confirmed that efforts are ongoing to track the third accused.
West Bengal has frequently been in the national spotlight over the past year due to multiple horrific rape and murder cases, including the high-profile rape and murder of a woman junior doctor at Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in August last year.
