9-yr-old girl raped, strangulated to death in West Bengal

A 9-year-old girl was raped and strangulated to death allegedly by a temple priest in Andal town of West Bengal's Burdwan district, police said today.

Police today arrested the temple priest in this connection. The girl, a class two student, had gone to the temple to collect flowers yesterday when the priest, who is also the caretaker of the temple in South Bazar allegedly lured her with 'prasad' and sweets and took her to the terrace and raped her, police said. The girl was then allegedly strangulated to death and thrown off, they said.

On hearing the thud, locals rushed to the spot and found the girl's body which bore several wounds The police was informed and police commissioner of Asasol-Durgapur commissionerate Vineet Goale and Assistant Commissioner of Police (East) Pankaj Dwivedi rushed to the spot. They were, however, prevented from lifting the body by locals, who demanded punishment of the culprits. The body was sent for post mortem and the priest and a vegetable seller was detained in connection with the crime, Goyale said. The priest was arrested after he confessed to the crime, police said.

The girl's father is employed in a shop in Jharkhand and her mother, who stays in her parental house, sells vegetables in nearby Kajora.