Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 5: Even before the fire erupted from the rape and murder of a trainee postgraduate doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata was doused, protests over another alleged rape and murder has engulfed West Bengal and is also threatening to take a communal turn.
Violence erupted at Jaynagar in south 24 Parganas district on Saturday after the body of a nine-year-old girl who had left home to attend a coaching class was found in Mahismari area in the wee hours of Saturday. The family members of the child and villagers alleged that the child was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and then killed. Angry locals ransacked the Mahismari police outpost and set police vehicles on fire.
The villagers blocked roads and clashed with police. The police fired tear gas shells and resorted to disperse the mob. The locals were also seen chasing away the local Trinamool Congress MLA Ganesh Mondal. Video footage was telecast by local news channels of the violence where locals armed with sticks and batons ransacked the police outpost. A police camp has also been vandalised and set on fire.
While a post-mortem report is awaited, the BJP has claimed it was a case of rape and murder and hit out at the Trinamool Congress-led government in the state. In a bid to give the incident a communal touch, the BJP IT cell chief and in-charge of West Bengal Amit Malaviya in a post on X said the victim girl was Hindu and was raped and murdered by a Muslim youth. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the West Bengal government are already under fire over their alleged mishandling of the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August.
The police said the girl, a minor, had left to attend a coaching class in South 24 Parganas’ in Mahismari on Friday and the family filed a missing complaint at night after she did not return home. Her body was found in a field about one km away from their house around 3.30 am on Saturday with multiple injuries. After the body was recovered, angry residents of the area started a protest and also set a police camp on fire after vandalising it.
The father of the girl said she had informed him that she would head home after the class and when he saw that she wasn’t back even after he reached the house, the family approached the police outpost nearby and were directed to the nearest police station. The police said an investigation was launched as soon as the complaint was received.
Officials said a 19-year-old man, Mostakin Sardar, has been arrested for the kidnapping and murder. Protesters carrying sticks and brooms are still out in the streets, however, and a large police team has been deployed to ensure the situation does not escalate.
Union Minister and BJP State President Sukanta Majumdar claimed that the girl was raped, and called for Chief Minister Banerjee’s resignation. “Durga Puja celebrations are days away and such crimes are taking place in the state with innocent girls as the victims. This shows that Mamata Banerjee has no control over the administration, which has become completely political. The way this minor girl was raped and the fact that these crimes are taking place again and again in Bengal… Mamata Banerjee has no legal or moral right to hold on to her post,” Mr Majumdar said.
The police have, however, said the post-mortem report was awaited and rape cannot be confirmed until then.
The villagers said the police did not take their allegations seriously when the family approached them after the child went missing. The family had approached the police outpost at Mahismari police outpost but were told to go to Kultali police station. The family members had to visit several police stations before a missing complaint was filed. The people of the area said the child could have been saved had the police acted in time.
A huge contingent of police was deployed in the area to contain the situation. The place where the body was recovered had been identified and secured. The body has been sent for post mortem. Local Trinamool Congress leaders including Jaynagar MP Pratima Mondal faced ‘go back’ slogans when they visited a local hospital where the body was kept.
With the villagers seething in anger, the BJP leadership called for the gherao of the Kultali police station. Supporters of the opposition parties held protests in Jaynagar and Kolkata. BJP leader Agnimitra Pal and CPI(M) leader Meenakshi Mukherjee held protests outside a hospital at Jaynagar. The BJP supporters organised processions and blocked roads in the city demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over sexual assault on women.
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said the West Bengal government has not learnt anything from the R.G. Kar rape and murder. “The whole situation could have been avoided if the Police could have just done their duty yesterday.
“The State Government, Administration, and top cops are always paying lip service to how the State is safe for women and how CCTVs are being installed. Preparedness is being increased to enhance women’s safety. In reality, no one still monitors the CCTVs when it is required in real-time, and the Police are just planning how to suppress any spontaneous protest with brute force,” Mr Adhikari said.
Baruipur Superintendent of Police (SP) Palash Dhali said, “We were informed about the girl going missing at 9 pm. We started an investigation and identified an accused. An FIR was lodged by midnight. We arrested the accused and then the body was recovered.” He said though the police had done everything they could, if there were any grievances among people, it would be looked into.
Expressing shock over the tragic incident, BJP MP from Purulia Jyotirmay Singh Mahato has urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s intervention and implementation of Article 355. He said that the state should be declared a disturbed area over the law and order situation. “Hon’ble @AmitShah Ji, I humbly request your urgent intervention in Bengal by implementing Article 355 and declaring the state a disturbed area. Bengal has turned into the most unsafe place for women and children. The recent Jaynagar tragedy, where a young child’s body was found after police inaction, is just one of many horrifying incidents,’ he said in a post on X.
Mr Malaviya slammed the Chief Minister of defending and protecting the rapists. “Angry villagers accost Mamata Banerjee’s MP from Joynagar, where a minor Hindu girl was raped and murdered by a Muslim man. She is shown slippers, as West Bengal administration continues to be indifferent. Like Sheikh Shahjahan controlled #Sandeshkhali, vast parts of Joynagar is controlled by a criminal called Saokat Molla, a TMC MLA, considered close to both Mamata Banerjee and her nephew. So, expect Mamata Banerjee to defend the rapist(s), like she did in Sandeshkhali,” he said in a post on X.
BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul, former state minister and CPI(M) leader Kanti Ganguly and DYFI leader Meenakshi Mukherjee went to the hospital separately and got engaged in heated arguments with police officials when they wanted to meet the family of the deceased. Paul demanded that the body of the girl be preserved and the autopsy be done at “a neutral hospital which will not be influenced by the ruling party.”
She also demanded that a magisterial probe be ordered into the incident. As demanded by the BJP and the CPI (M), the body of the girl was finally taken to a morgue in Kolkata for subsequent autopsy at a hospital. TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said this was a heinous crime and the party wanted exemplary punishment for the guilty. He, however, slammed the BJP and CPI(M) for indulging in “vulture politics.”