Kolkata Infant Murder Highlights Grim Reality of Violence Against Girls Despite Laws and Welfare Schemes
By BK Singh
India has framed strict laws for women’s safety, launched campaigns to protect the girl child, and rolled out numerous welfare schemes aimed at empowering women.
Yet, beneath these efforts, disturbing acts of cruelty against women and girls continue to surface with alarming regularity.
From harassment that pushes women to the brink of suicide to the silent suffering of victims of molestation who never approach the police out of fear, shame or social pressure, many crimes remain hidden from public view.
But some incidents are so horrifying that they shake society to its core.
One such chilling case emerged from Kolkata, where a five-month-old baby girl was allegedly strangled and beaten to death by her own father — a crime that has left many stunned by its brutality.
The accused, 24-year-old Debojit Jana, alias Piklu, a footpath dweller, was arrested by the Maidan Police on Friday following a dramatic confrontation near the Brigade Parade Ground.
The case came to light after Debojit’s 18-year-old wife, Kajol Jana, broke down in public and accused him of killing their infant daughter.
According to police sources and local witnesses, Kajol was found crying uncontrollably near the Shiv Mandir beside the TAOI Ground pond on Friday afternoon. Concerned locals gathered around her, and what she narrated left them horrified.
Kajol alleged that on the evening of May 3, while the family was sitting near the Brigade grounds, her husband brutally assaulted their five-month-old daughter.
According to her account, the infant was repeatedly beaten on the back and then strangled to death.
She further told locals that after killing the child, Debojit wrapped the body and dumped it into a roadside dustbin near JLN Road during the night.
As Kajol recounted the incident, Debojit himself reportedly approached the area. Locals quickly identified him from her description and stopped him when he allegedly tried to flee.
Witnesses claimed that during questioning by the crowd, he admitted to the crime before police personnel arrived at the scene.
The Maidan Police later arrested him and registered a case under sections related to murder and destruction of evidence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Investigators said Kajol appeared mentally disturbed and emotionally shattered during questioning.
However, hospital documents from Matri Sadan Hospital in Hazra confirmed that she had given birth to a baby girl on December 12, 2025.
The investigation has since turned into a desperate search for the infant’s remains.
Police said the accused led officers to a dustbin along JLN Road, where he allegedly disposed of the child’s body.
But by then, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s garbage collection team had already cleared the waste.
CCTV footage from the area has reportedly become a crucial piece of evidence. According to investigators, cameras captured the accused carrying the infant in his lap late on the night of May 3.
Moments later, footage allegedly shows him throwing a white plastic bag into the dustbin before walking away.
Police have also recovered the clothes Debojit was wearing that night and identified the specific municipal garbage truck that emptied the bin the following morning. Efforts to trace the baby’s remains are still underway.
The incident has once again exposed the painful contradiction that continues to haunt society.
Even as governments promote campaigns celebrating daughters and women’s empowerment, many girls still face violence from the moment they are born — sometimes within their own homes.
Crimes against women often remain buried in silence. Many victims of molestation or domestic abuse never file complaints because they fear humiliation, social stigma, or retaliation.
In extreme cases, relentless harassment drives women to self-harm or suicide.
What makes the Kolkata case especially disturbing is not only the death of an infant, but the sheer inhumanity alleged in the act itself — the killing of a helpless baby girl through repeated assault and strangulation.
For many, it is a grim reminder that legal protections and welfare schemes alone cannot change realities unless society itself confronts the deep-rooted mindset that continues to devalue and brutalise women and girls.
