The Kolkata Police on Tuesday paraded three men who allegedly held an 18-year-old man, his father and his friend at gunpoint and forced them to walk naked on Sunday night in the Sarsuna area of south-east Kolkata, opposition leaders in West Bengal alleged.
Mamata All India Trinamool Congress (MAITC) legislator Kunal Ghosh alleged that the Kolkata Police paraded the accused with their upper bodies bare.
“Uncivilised practice”
"The police acted promptly and arrested the accused. But parading these men on a public road with bare upper bodies is an uncivilised practice. It is not sanctioned by law," Ghosh said.
CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim, too, criticised the police and said, "The state and Kolkata police were always known for crime detection, not for feudal practices," Salim said.
"The parents and maternal uncle of the 13-year-old girl - with whom the 18-year-old man allegedly had an affair - were arrested and remanded in police custody on Monday along with one of their associates. The three men were taken to the spot to corroborate their statements," a police officer said, requesting anonymity.
{{/usCountry}}"The parents and maternal uncle of the 13-year-old girl - with whom the 18-year-old man allegedly had an affair - were arrested and remanded in police custody on Monday along with one of their associates. The three men were taken to the spot to corroborate their statements," a police officer said, requesting anonymity.
{{/usCountry}}"The accused were taken to the same location where they forced the complainants to strip and walk back home. The accused were asked to provide every detail of what happened on Sunday night. They were not paraded but were made to walk along the road and describe how and where they committed the crime. This has been done in several other cases," the officer added.
Asked why the upper bodies of all three suspects were bare, the officer described it as a precautionary measure.
"It was a crowded place and they could have made an attempt to escape from custody. It is extremely difficult for anyone without a shirt to avoid being spotted from a distance," he said.
The girl's maternal uncle is the prime accused according to the complainants.
According to the complaint, the young man went to the Basundhara Park area during Lakshami Puja on Sunday evening to meet the girl when he and his friend were locked up. The accused later summoned the man's father over the phone.
"The 18-year-old and the minor girl have known each other for several months. The girl's family objected to their relationship. On Sunday, the maternal uncle, who works for online delivery companies, allegedly held a pistol at the young man, his father and his friend and threatened to kill them. The three were allegedly assaulted," a second police officer said.
The young man's father alleged that the girl's maternal uncle asked him to shoot his son with the pistol or stab him with a knife. When he refused to do either, all three were made to strip and walk naked on the main road.
Multiple charges, such as criminal intimidation, kidnapping and unlawful confinement, were pressed against the accused.
Talking to the media, the young man's father said, "We were not allowed to walk along a narrow bylane when they wanted to parade us. They took us to the busy main road. People shot videos that went viral."