14 years on, state shudders

The rape and murder of 14-year-old Hetal Parekh in her home by the apartment’s guard shook the entire state 14 years ago. The criminal ...

The rape and murder of 14-year-old Hetal Parekh in her home by the apartment’s guard shook the entire state 14 years ago. The criminal — Dhananjoy Chatterjee — was rounded up within a month; the anger and outrage faded away but the fear remained.

The shock waves touched everyone, from schoolchildren to parents who left them alone trusting the guards at the gate, from apartment owners to those who lived in secluded houses.

Hetal returned to her flat in Bhowanipore from school on the afternoon of March 5, 1990. She was alone at home. Within a few minutes, the guard knocked on the door. Hetal opened the door and before she could react, Dhananjoy had forced his way in. She ran inside but he caught hold of her and pushed her against a swing. Forensic experts later found blood stains on the swing. Hetal’s parents returned in the evening to find their daughter’s body in the flat.

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The post-mortem found Hetal was strangled and battered while she was raped. Dhananjoy was suspected as Hetal had complained to her parents earlier that the guard used to tease her. The apartment owners’ association had decided to sack him when they received the complaints and the day of the crime was his last day in service. He went missing that afternoon.

The Detective Department of Kolkata Police, headed by Prasun Mukherjee, nabbed Dhananjoy from Bankura after about 20 days. Police recall that constables from the area were taken off regular duty and spread out in the vicinity of Dhananjoy’s village.

About a fortnight later, they were tipped off that Dhananjoy had returned to the village but the raiding teams found nothing. Later, the raids were seemingly called off. But a police party lay in wait near Dhananjoy’s house. Soon enough, he surfaced and was caught.