Lagatar24 Desk
On Thursday (July 20), a BJP gram sabha candidate in West Bengal informed that she was physically assaulted, stripped and paraded naked by workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party during the panchayat elections, reports opindia.com.
As per a report by ANI, the incident took place on July 8, 2023, in Dakshin Panchla in the Howrah district of West Bengal. In her official complaint filed with the Panchla police, the victim narrated that the assault was carried out by TMC gram sabha candidate Hemanta Roy at the polling station.
She further added that Roy was accompanied by other 40-50 TMC workers, including Noor Alam, Sanju Das, Ranabir Panja, Sukamal Panja, Alfi Sk. The copy of the First Information Report (FIR), as reported by Republic TV, read, “They hit me on my chest, and head with sticks and pushed me out of the polling booth.”
The victim pointed out that the TMC gram sabha candidate instigated party workers such as Sukamal Panja and Ali Sheikh to tear her saree and inner dress. “They further assaulted me and forced me to undress naked and molested me in front of other people,” she emphasised.
The development came amid public outrage over a viral video from Manipur wherein two women were gang-raped and paraded naked by a mob of men.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has slammed Mamata Banerjee for selectively speaking about the Manipur incident but conveniently ignoring a similar case from West Bengal.
In a tweet, BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya said, “Do you have any shame at all Mamata Banerjee? On 8th Jul 2023, the day of the Panchayat poll, a Gram Sabha candidate, a woman, was beaten, stripped naked and paraded in Howrah’s Panchla, stones throw away from Nabanno, where you sit.”
Do you have any shame at all Mamata Banerjee?
On 8th Jul 2023, day of Panchayat poll, a Gram Sabha candidate, a woman, was beaten, stripped naked and paraded in Howrah’s Panchla, stones throw away from Nabanno, where you sit.
Your police wasn’t even taking FIR till the BJP… https://t.co/hAYTF7N3KP
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) July 20, 2023
“Your police wasn’t even taking FIR till the BJP forced it down. Hemanta Roy, TMC candidate from the same Gram Sabha, along with other criminals like Alfi Sk, Sukamal Panja, Ranabir Panja, Sanju Das, Noor Alam and 40-50 other men, hit her on chest, tore her saree and pulled off her inner wear, before parading her naked,” he added
“You, as Home Minister of West Bengal, were expected to uphold law and order, instead you chose to prevaricate… Trust me, the world is a better place without your broken heart, outrage and fake concern for justice. You are a failed Chief Minister. Please focus on Bengal…” Amit Malviya concluded. (Courtesy: opindia.com)
