'Demand justice, not Lakshmir Bhandar': Women in Bengal's Kultali amid minor girl's rape-murder

Kolkata: Women in West Bengal's Kultali where locals recently held protests against the alleged rape-murder of a 10-year-old girl expressed disappointment over the progress of investigation into the case and said they want justice for the minor, not the "benefits of Lakshmir Bhandar", a financial assistance scheme of the state government.

The women of Kultali in South 24 Parganas district gathered at a local banyan tree and prayed to Goddess Durga for their protection and swift justice.

"We don't want Lakshmir Bhandar or Kanya Shree. We just want safety for our children," a woman, who gathered at the tree, said.

'Lakhsmir Bhandar' is a popular financial assistance scheme of the West Bengal government, which provides an allowance of Rs 1,000 for general-category women and Rs 1,200 for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe women in the state.

Another woman in Kultali asked, "Where is the safety of women? We have seen the Sandeshkhali incident and the brutal rape and murder of a doctor at the RG Kar hospital. Now, we have lost a girl here." Notably, the state government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the alleged rape-murder of the girl, an official said.

The SIT will be led by Baruipur SP Palash Chandra Dhali, he said.

"We want to assure the locals of our commitment to ensuring justice and punishing those responsible for this crime," the official said on Tuesday.

So far, the police have arrested one person in connection with the case.

The incident, which occurred on October 5, sparked widespread protests across the state, with locals setting vehicles ablaze, vandalising a police outpost, and blocking roads in the area after the girl's body was found in a pond.