Raiganj\Malda, March 13: A 12-year-old girl was raped and throttled to death at Krishnamuri in Raiganj, while a woman doctor attached to a health centre at Englishbazar, Malda, was molested and her gold chain snatched away last night.

According to police, the girl used to work in a brick kiln and live with her mother and two younger brothers. Her father had deserted them five years ago. The mother, a domestic help, is yet to return from her employer’s house.

The siblings said their sister had been called out of the house by some people last night. When she did not return, her brothers — aged six and seven — started crying, attracting the neighbours’ attention. They later found the girl’s half-naked body on the bank of a pond, close to the house.

“There was no sign of struggle on the entire stretch to the pond. She probably knew the person,” said inspector-in-charge of the Raiganj police station Pradip Chakraborty. He added that an inquiry had been started and the body sent for postmortem.

In Malda, a youth feigning illness went to the doctor’s quarters around 10 last night. Since her husband, Bhaskar Ghosh (name changed), attached to a health centre, was away in Calcutta on an official assignment, the doctor was alone in the house.

According to the woman, the youth knocked on the door saying he had severe stomach ache.

When she opened the door, the youth tried to hug her and the doctor raised the alarm. The youth tried to flee but the woman caught him. He brandished a chopper to free her and snatched her gold chain away.

The doctor lodged a complaint with Englishbazar police station this morning. “I am not sure about the youth’s motive. I had never seen him before,” she told the police.

Chief medical officer of health Radharaman Banik said he has urged the police to ensure the doctor’s safety.

District superintendent of police Satyajit Banerjee said the inspector-in-charge of the police station has been asked to question the local people.