A fresh controversy has erupted with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership both in West Bengal and New Delhi on Saturday alleging that two women were stripped and assaulted in State’s Malda district earlier this week .
Amit Malviya, the head of BJP’s I-T cell took to social media sharing a video of the alleged incident and targeted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the incident. According to Mr. Malviya the incident took place on the morning of July 19 in Pakua Hat area of Bamangola Police Station, Malda.
State’s Minister for Women and Child Development Sashi Panja said that the police have taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and a case has been registered. Dr. Panja said that the incident relates to a case of theft inside a big haat (market) and the BJP leadership was trying to give a political colour to the incident.
“It was a case of theft, where the two ladies tried to steal something from the market. A group of women tried to take law and order into their hands and started beating them. The civic police tried to intervene but they were overpowered by the mob,” the Minister said.
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur while speaking about atrocities against women in Opposition ruled states Bihar, Rajasthan said that the BJP president had sent a delegation of women MPs to West Bengal who were shaken up after visiting the State. Mr. Thakur also added that the response of the Minister Sashi Panja points that the State government does not consider the incident at Malda as a crime.
Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani raised the incident at Malda and said the Congress party was silent on the issue as it is into an understanding with the Trinamool Congress.
The CPI(M) and Congress leadership of the State also called the incident at Malda “unfortunate” and sought action from the State government. Another West Bengal Minister and senior Trinamool Congress leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay said that the BJP leadership is trying to compare the situation in Manipur with that of West Bengal which was ‘laughable’.
Also read: Belated outrage: On the Manipur violence and the top political response | No evidence of woman being stripped at Panchla: West Bengal DGP Manoj Malaviya
The incident comes close to an allegation by the BJP leadership that a party’s woman candidate was disrobed and paraded at Panchla in Howrah district for daring to contest the panchayat elections held on July 8. On Friday State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar and BJP MP Locket Chatterjee held a press conference in Delhi highlighting the alleged incidents and Ms. Chatterjee broke down while interacting with media.
West Bengal Director General of Police Manoj Malaviya had on Friday said that there was no evidence indicating any such incident at Panchla. “We asked the victim to produce the injury report and record a statement before a Court under Section 164 of (Cr.PC) however they are yet to come forward,” Mr. Malaviya said.
The DGP said a complaint was received by the Panchla on July 13 over email and an FIR was registered on July 14. Mr. Malaviya said that nobody has heard or seen about such an incident and the central forces deployed during the panchayat polls have not reported any such incident to the police.
