Kolkata, Nov 3 : A man was arrested on charges of abducting and raping a minor girl in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

The accused was arrested on Saturday night.

The accused's family was said to be having links with the Trinamool Congress.

This is the third incident of rape involving minor victims that have been reported from the state in the last 24 hours, the previous two being at Kumargram in Alipurduar district and Domkal in Murshidabad district.

As per the police complaint filed by the victim's parents, she was abducted, taken to a secluded place and then raped by the accused while she was returning from her tuition class on Friday evening.

Although she did not tell anyone anything after returning home, her parents found her in shock. On Saturday evening, she attempted suicide but was prevented by her parents.

Thereafter she narrated the entire story and on the same night the parents filed the police complaint against the accused. Thereafter the cops arrested him late Saturday night. He will be presented at a district court on Sunday afternoon only and the public prosecutor will seek his police custody, a local police official said.

It is learnt that there had been frequent complaints against the accused youth earlier of teasing young girls. A year back, the people of the locality became furious after the same victim complained against the accused of teasing her publicly.

However, the victim's father said, the accused youth somehow escaped police complaint by tendering a public apology.

Local BJP legislator from Gaighata Subrata Thakur accused the family members of the arrested youth and the local Trinamool Congress activists of threatening the members of the victim's family since the time the complaint was filed.

However, local Trinamool Congress leader Prasenjit Ghosh has denied the charges and said in such cases, the law will take its course.

West Bengal has been in the news for the last three months over repeated reports of rapes and murders.

The most talked-about tragedy was the gruesome rape and murder of a junior doctor of R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata within the hospital premises in August.

/IANS