In a grim turn, the body of a 17‑year‑old girl was recovered behind a relative’s house in Gaighata on Sunday morning, prompting Gaighata police to detain a family member as a suspect.
The victim had vanished after a late‑night musical programme on Saturday, after a call at midnight that left her family searching for her.
Chief Inspector Ranjit Kumar said the post‑mortem would confirm whether the death was a homicide and if a sexual assault had occurred.
BJP legislator Subrata Thakur, who visited the scene, vowed strict punishment and urged the police to explore whether the suspect fled to Bangladesh, noting the area’s porous border.
The investigation has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, and the police are probing for evidence of a possible cross‑border escape.