A 15-year-old national-level volleyball player was brutally murdered by a spurned lover -a senior national player -at a practice session in Barasat on Friday afternoon. Some 25 players and three coaches looked on in horror as Sangita Aich desperately ran towards them with the attacker at her heels, wildly hacking her with a dagger.
Sangita was stabbed in the head and neck and bled to death on the playgro und. A coach who tried to save her was also stabbed. The suspect, 20-year-old Subrata Sinha, fled and is yet to be traced. Police believe Subrata was trying to force Sangita into a relationship and flew into a rage when she spurned him.
Sangita was a Class IX student at Barasat Girls’ High School. She had represented Bengal in two under-14 national championships.
According to police and witnesses TOI spoke to, she took a break around 4.30pm after a rigorous coaching session at Natunpukur Volleyball Association. Subrata showed up a little later.
Coach Swapan Das said: ” Around 4.40pm, she was sitting in a chair just behind me when Subrata entered the ground and called out to her but she ignored him.Suddenly , he rushed towards her and star ted threatening her. Sangita protested, leading to an argument. We tried to calm them but they moved away and continued quarrelling. Suddenly,I heard her scream and turned back to see Subrata chasing her with a dagger.” Coach Swapan Das ran towards Subrata and tried to block him.
“I threw my chair at him but he slashed my hand with the dagger and continued chasing her. The others in the ground also tried to grab him, but he had already caught Sangita after chasing her for 60 metres and was stabbing her repeatedly . We were just 20 feet away, but could not reach in time,” said the coach, breaking down in tears.
Sangita collapsed under the net and died within seconds from her grievous injuries. Her teammates tried to nab Subrata but he allegedly waved the dagger at them “like a mani ac” and ran away .
Sangita was taken to Barasat district hospital where she was declared dead on arrival. Within minutes, hundreds had flocked to Sangita’s house in Natunpukur, close to the coaching ground. Sangita’s coaches and neighbours said she was loved for her simplicity and behaviour.
“She had very good prospects as a volleyball player and used to train very hard. She was excellent in the last under-14 national championship in Tamil Nadu in 2015 and was preparing for another inter-state tournament. We cannot believe she is no more,” said Sanatan Hazra, another trainer who was at the ground.
Her family says Subrata, a resident of Shyamnagar, had got in touch with her nearly a year ago. “He tried to force her into an affair and kept pestering her but she turned him down every time. She told us that she had complained to her coaches about the harassment and feared for her life. But we never imagined that boy could murder her on being spurned,” a relative said. North 24-Parganas additional SP Tarun Halder said police teams are out looking for Subrata. “We are investigating if a dispute over an affair could have led the murder,” he said.