Bengal's Missing Teen Surfaces, Police Say She Had Eloped

The teenager who had been missing for two months, leading to a bitter political battle in West Bengal, is back. And according to the police, the 15-year-old now claims she had not been abducted.

The parents of the girl - residents of south Bengal's Magrahat -- had claimed she had been abducted by the members of the minority community, who had links with the ruling Trinamool Congress. They also said she had been abducted twice in three months.

Today, the police made a statement in Kolkata, claiming the girl had appeared this afternoon at the Magrahat police station and claimed she had run off with a boy from the minority community. "She said she did not wish to stay at her father's house," said Anuj Verma, Inspector General, Law and Order.

The girl is currently in police custody, she will be produced before a local court on Tuesday, an officer told NDTV.

The surfacing of the teen came as the Mamata Banerjee government faced massive opposition fire over the case.

The CPM has attacked the government over the lack of any arrest in more than 80 days.

The BJP, which had been holding an agitation outside the local police station, claimed the government was soft-pedalling in the case because of the alleged involvement of the minorities. The assembly polls are due next year - in the last elections, the Trinamool had captured a chunk of the 27% minority votes in the state.

State BJP chief Rahul Sinha said he doubted that the girl had returned on her own. "The government and the police did nothing for 80 days, it is only after we came out on the road that the cops took action," he added.