Soumitra Nandi
correspondent@journospy.com
Kolkata: Five teenage girls allegedly committed suicide by swallowing pesticide, while another one was admitted to Midnapore Medical College Hospital in a critical condition in the Jamboni area of West Midnapore district, close to the West Bengal-Jharkhand border.

The bodies of Namita Nayak, Baby Nayak, Saraswati Nayak, Soma Nayak and Palan Nayak, all aged between 13 and 19 years, were found in a field in the remote Oro village close to the Jharkhand border under the limits of Jamboni police station, a senior district police officer said. Local sources said that the girls had gone out to a nearby field adjacent to a pond to attend natures call on Monday night. “One of them Puja came shouting writhing in pain that they had consumed poison and her friends were lying near the pond. The locals started searching till they were found motionless beside the pond.” Said Biswanath Orao, a local resident.

All of them including Puja were rushed to Jhargram district hospital where five were declared brought dead. Puja was shifted to Midnapore Medical College Hospital on Tuesday morning, said police sources. "Our preliminary probe has revealed that they were in a relationship with six youths from Jharkhand who would come and meet them frequently. Their families did not approve of their relationship. They were often reprimanded for being involved in such a relationship. They were also thrashed for their act. Saraswati’s marriage was recently fixed against her will with a local youth. The marriage was scheduled to take place on March 5, the day of Doljatra. That may be the reason but six girls committing the same act together is still baffling us.” Said Bharati Ghosh, superintendent of Police, Jhargram.

“The preliminary post mortem report attributed the death to the consuming of pesticide. A pungent smell was coming out of their stomach. However, the nature of the pesticide will be known only after the forensic examination.We are sending samples to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory for examination,” a senior autopsy specialist with the Midnapore Medical College Hospital told this correspondent.

The police have recovered a packet of Kurkure (chips) and pesticide around 400 metres from where the girls were found lying. The cops have come across some phone numbers from the call lists of the girls though their family members claimed that the girls could not switch on a cell phone. “They were not accustomed to using mobiles,” said a family member.

The family members claimed that they were unaware of any relationship about their wards. The sleuths however are skeptical about their claims.
“We are exploring all angles. Some of the villagers had claimed that the girls were humiliated because of their relationship with the Jharkhand youths,” said a district police official.