Kolkata Woman Dragged Down From Car, Murdered In Public, 3 Held.
The three suspects in connection with the incident have been arrested and the body of the woman was sent for post-mortem.
A woman lost her life after she was chased and reportedly stabbed multiple times by three people, including a minor outside a popular eatery in full public view in the eastern fringes of Kolkata, West Bengal, police said on Friday.
The victim identified as Rofiya Saquil, age around 20, was reportedly dragged out of her car next to the eatery and chased before being killed on Thursday evening. The three suspects in connection with the incident have been apprehended and the body of the woman was sent for post-mortem, PTI quoted a police official as saying.
Police are investigating a possible extramarital affair as the motive behind the brutal attack on a woman from Raja Ramnarayan Street in Narkeldanga. The woman's alleged relationship with Mohammed Fahrukh Ansari, whose family members are suspected to have orchestrated the crime, is under scrutiny.
Police quoting eyewitnesses said the attack took place around 8:30 pm on Thursday when the woman arrived at a dhaba near the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass in the Pragati Maidan Police Station area, accompanied by Ansari.
Further police added that she was forcibly pulled from her car and repeatedly stabbed in the neck with a sharp weapon, allegedly by a teenager—Ansari’s son—who was assisted by his mother and a 22-year-old man. The attackers had reportedly been tracking Ansari’s movements through a GPS device in his vehicle.
"The murder appears to be a well-planned one. Ansari's son was keeping track of his movement," the officer said. Eyewitnesses at the eatery described scenes of horror as the wounded woman ran for her life, screaming for help, only to be chased down and pinned against a wall by the assailants, who continued the assault.
Ansari, now on the run, has been identified as the victim’s husband and a key figure in the attack. The woman was also married to another man, police confirmed. The victim, identified as Saquil, was rushed to the state-run NRS Medical College and Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries around 2 am on Friday despite undergoing emergency surgery. Doctors attributed excessive bleeding as the reason for her death after the attack.
The uncle of the deceased woman said that the family members had no idea about her extra-marital relationship. "We got the news around midnight. She had gone to her parents' place and we had no clue whom she was meeting," he said, as reported by PTI.
Oppositions React To Security Situation For Women In Bengal
In response to the incident, the opposition criticised the security situation for women in West Bengal, demanding that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee take accountability and step down. BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, drawing comparisons to the RG Kar hospital rape and murder case, labelled the Kolkata Police as "incompetent" and "sycophantic."
“Failed Chief Minister (Mamata Banerjee) please react and resign! In the middle of the night, a young woman was openly chased on the street and brutally attacked with a sharp weapon, yet the incompetent, sycophant Kolkata police under her leadership failed to take any immediate action? “Whether it is the restroom for female doctors in a government hospital or a crowded area in Kolkata, this state is gradually turning into a death trap for women. No matter how much the incompetent Chief Minister falsely claims that Kolkata is the safest city, the reality is that under her tenure, women in the state have suffered the most.” Majumdar reacted in a post on social media platform X.
Failed Chief Minister @MamataOfficial please react and resign!
— Dr. Sukanta Majumdar (@DrSukantaBJP) January 31, 2025
In the middle of the night an young women was openly chased on the street and brutely attack with sharp weapon, yet the incompetent, sycophantic Kolkata police under her leadership failed to take
any immediate… pic.twitter.com/19xWwxjtFx
However, senior TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay countered the claims, insisting that Kolkata's law and order remains “one of the best in the country.”
“Before making statements, the BJP should first look at the law and order situation in states ruled by it. See what happened at the Maha Kumbh (stampede incident). The Kolkata episode is very unfortunate, but the police have arrested the culprits,” he said.
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