Tag : minor

Kolkata: The controversy over the rape of a minor girl, who died later, at Hanskhali in Nadia district of West Bengal last week took a more debatable turn on Monday afternoon after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave a love-angle twist to the incident. Speaking at the inauguration of the revamped Milan Mela, a permanent fairground opposite the Science City at the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass in Kolkata on Monday afternoon, the chief minister referred to the minor's rape in connection with which Brajagopal Goyal, son of a local panchayet member, Samar Goyal, was arrested by the police on Sunday. "What has happened is not right. I condemn it. The police have arrested the accused. But the opposition parties and a section of the media are trying to give a political twist to the entire event. I have received the news that there was a love affair between the accused and the victim. So why come to a conclusion before the investigation is completed," the chief minister said. However, legal experts have ruled out the logic of a love affair and consensual sex in this case since the victim was a minor. Senior criminal lawyer of the Calcutta High Court, Kaushik Gupta, told IANS that under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, even consensual sex is considered rape if it involves a minor girl. "A girl below the age of 18 is minor and law does not identify the right of a minor to give consent for sex. Consensual sex with a minor, as per the law is considered as aggravative penetration for sexual assault," Gupta said. Meanwhile, Banerjee also launched a scathing attack on the media and said that a large section of the media is trying to project the state in a totally negative light. "Even minor events are hi ...