E-Paper
West Bengal: Two tribal women stripped, assaulted in Malda district, claims BJP
Sharing the video on his official Twitter handle, BJP leader Amit Malviya, who is also the party’s co-incharge for West Bengal, said the women belonged to a socially marginalised community
Two tribal women were stripped and assaulted at a village market in West Bengal’s Malda district on Wednesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed.
A purported video of the incident was shared by BJP I-T cell head Amit Malviya on Saturday claiming that the incident took place in Malda on Wednesday (July 19).
Sharing the video on his official Twitter handle, Malviya, who is also the party’s co-incharge for West Bengal, said the women belonged to a socially marginalised community.
Attacking state chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Malviya wrote on Twitter, “A frenzied mob baying for her blood… It had all the making of a tragedy that should have ‘broken’ Mamata Banerjee’s heart and she, instead of merely outraging, could have acted, since she is also the Home Minister of Bengal…”
He said that the Bengal CM chose to do nothing about the incident. “Neither she condemned the barbarity nor did she express pain and anguish,” Malviya alleged.
“There is a video going viral on the internet emanating from Malda in West Bengal. Two Dalit women were mercilessly beaten and stripped,” Smriti Irani, Union minister told media persons.
As the BJP attacked the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) over the purported video, the TMC accused the BJP of “politicising the issue”.
Even though senior police officers of the district did not take calls and some refused to comment, the state woman and child development minister Shashi Panja told media persons that police have registered a suo moto case.
“The incident took place in a big village weekly market. It was alleged that those two poor women had stolen something. A quarrel broke out between some village women which turned into a fight. In the scuffle, they got disrobed. The women civic volunteers tried to intervene but failed as even they were over overpowered. The two women went away,” she said, adding that the BJP was unnecessarily politicising the issue.
According to locals, the incident took place at the Pakua Hat (weekly market) at Bamangola in Malda district on July 19.
Allegations surfaced that five tribal women from Malda’s Manikchak area had come to the weekly market to sell local products. They were caught stealing from other women. While three managed to escape, local women caught the two women and assaulted them.
“It is not a matter of states whether MANIPUR OR WEST BENGAL every daughter of this country deserves respect irrespective of politics, cast and creed. As per concerned of the required evidence here are the shocking and horrific visuals of how women are assaulted in OF MALDA WB,” Locket Chatterjee, BJP MP wrote on Twitter.
The Malda incident came to light a day after Chatterjee alleged that a party candidate was stripped, groped and paraded naked at Panchla in West Bengal’s Howrah on July 8 when panchayat elections were being held.
Chatterjee had broken down into tears on Friday while speaking to media persons and narrating alleged atrocities on women in West Bengal.
Police, however, said that they received a complaint from a woman via email on July 13. A day later, a first information report was lodged, but till date, no evidence has been found to support the allegations.
“Till date, we haven’t found any evidence. There are no witnesses. Police approached the woman and her husband to give s statement in court, but they refused,” Manoj Malaviya, director general of West Bengal Police, had told the media.
