Gangrape victim does not want to return to village

The 20-year-old tribal girl, who was gangraped on the order of a kangaroo court in West Bengal's Birbhum district, today expressed her unwillingness to return to her native village.
The girl told CPI(M) leader Suryakanta Mishra, who met her at a hospital here where she has been admitted, that she no more wanted to go back to her village and instead preferred to go a relative's place, hospital sources said quoting Mishra.
The victim was gangraped on the order of a kangaroo court when she expressed her inability to pay the Rs 50,000 fine demanded of her for falling in love with a man from outside the community on Tuesday.

The sources said that this was the reply of the girl to a question by Mishra, the Opposition Leader in the state Assembly, if she would like to return to Subalpur village where she resided.
Later, accompanied by CPI-M MLA Debolina Hembrom, Mishra visited the Subalpur village and the house where the brutal crime took place.
Talking to reporters later, Mishra said that removing the SP of the area was no solution. A probe has to conducted if the ruling party had any link with the incident and whether khap-panchayat like set-ups were being fostered.

He also slammed alleged police negligence in taking action in the crime.

Meanwhile, various Santhal tribal organisations today held a meeting at Mohammedbazar, 12 km from Suri, where village headmen (morol) from across the Santhal belt gathered.
The speakers alleged that a conspiracy had been hatched against their tribal society and called into question the media role in "defaming" their society.