RSS leader arrested for his role in Muslim girl’s abduction, her forcible conversion and marriage to Hindu man

By Muslim Mirror Staff

Tapan Debnath, a local leader of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and four others have been arrested in connection with the alleged kidnapping of a minor Muslim girl from Charilam of Bishalgarh in Tripura’s Sepahijala district on July 24.

According to police, the 16-year-old girl, belonging to the Muslim community, was abducted by a 23-year-old youth, Suman Sarkar, a resident of Chandantilla area of Bishalgarh. Sarkar reportedly married the girl after converting her to Hinduism, Times of India reported.

RSS leader Tapan Debnath, a resident of the Indranagar area of Agartala, was arrested a day after the president of the Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) state unit Chandra Sekhar Kar was detained for his alleged involvement in the abduction case, according to TOI.

The girl has not been traced so far. “So far, we have arrested five people in this connection and got some leads. We hope to rescue the girl soon. Nevertheless, the couple still remains imperceptible and untraceable,” said Krishnendu Chakraborty, Superintendent of Police (SP), Sepahijala.

A day after the girl went missing, her father had filed a missing diary with the police. After the police initially did not take any active action to rescue the girl, he filed a complaint with the High Court.

Following this, the bench, comprising Justice Akil Kureshi and Justice S G Chattopadhyay, had directed the police to find the girl and report to the court by September 2. But the police failed to meet the deadline.

The victim’s father also accused the investigating officer in the case of remaining silent in exchange for a large amount of money from the accused.