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Video shows 2 women stripped, assaulted in West Bengal; political row erupts
The BJP condemned the TMC after the video went viral on Saturday. The ruling party countered by saying the opposition was politicising the issue
Kolkata: Two tribal women in West Bengal seen in a video being stripped and beaten up in a weekly village market in Malda district on Wednesday sparked outrage in the eastern state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party condemned the ruling Trinamool Congress after the video went viral on Saturday. The TMC countered by saying the opposition was politicising the issue.
“There is a video, which is going viral on the internet emanating from Malda in West Bengal. Two Dalit women were mercilessly beaten and stripped,” Union women and child development minister Smriti Irani said at a media briefing.
The state’s woman and child development minister Shashi Panja said police have registered a case on their own. District police officers didn’t take calls.
“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,” Panja said. “Women civic volunteers tried to intervene, but failed as they were overpowered.” Panja accused the BJP of politicising the incident.
The incident took place at the Pakua Hat weekly market at Bamangola in Malda district on July 19, area residents said. Allegations surfaced that five tribal women from the Malda’s Manikchak area had come to the weekly market to sell produce. They were caught stealing from other women. While three managed to escape, local women caught the two and assaulted them.
“It is not 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,” BJP MP Locket Chatterjee tweeted.
Chatterjee had broken down into tears on Friday while speaking to media persons and narrating alleged atrocities on women in West Bengal. The parliamentarian had alleged that a party candidate was stripped, groped and paraded naked at Panchla in West Bengal’s Howrah district on July 8 when panchayat elections were being held.
Police, however, said they received a complaint from a woman via email on July 13. A day later, a first information report was lodged, but 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 statement in court, but they refused,” Manoj Malaviya, director general of West Bengal Police, told the media.
