The 23-year-old, prime accused in the alleged rape and murder of a Class 11 student in North 24 Parganas’ Gaighatra, was gunned down in a police encounter early on Tuesday. Kolkata: A mother’s anguished cries echoed along the corridors of Chandpara Rural Hospital as Prahlad Das’s body was wheeled away for postmortem.
I wanted him to receive severe punishment, but I never thought it would end like this,” she said. Struggling with grief, Rekha collapsed on a hospital bed. “I handed my son over to the police myself. “How could he escape when so many policemen were guarding him? Was he really trying to flee? Rekha asked. “If someone tries to escape from custody, police will obviously shoot. But will I ever get my daughter back?” the victim’s father asked.
Prahlad’s family members said they met him at 2 am, and hours later, were told that he was dead.
Prahlad’s family runs two barber shops at Baikunthapur market, according to sources. Prahlad’s younger brother Dhruva, however, said he was unable to believe that he could have committed the rape-murder or snatched a firearm from cops in a bid to escape. The families of the victim and the accused, Dhruva said, were distant relatives. The girl occasionally visited his brother’s shop, and the two allegedly quarrelled often, he said.
“Didn’t you think of me even once? What have you done?” cried Rekha Das over her son’s body. The victim’s family, meanwhile, welcomed police action.
Minutes earlier, she had put up a strong face, saying, “I am in pain as a mother, but I am happy as a citizen.