The Spine Chilling Accounts of Rape, Lynching and Molestation in West Bengal

“They beat me up and touched me inappropriately. They beat me so badly, it has left a mark on my back,” said Rakhi Roy. She further added that the goons told her to leave the house by Monday evening, or her husband would be killed.

There seems to be no end to the post-poll violence in West Bengal. Victims have spoken out on the atrocities they had to endure at the hands of supporters of the ruling party since the Assembly election result announcement on May 2.

Mamta Banerjee’s government TMC emerged victories which later led to a series of gory and blood-infested events where BJP workers and those who voted for the party were specifically targeted. Stories of rape, molestation, lynching have been in the news with minimal to no action taken by the centre. The supremo of TMC, a woman, has maintained a pin drop silence on the brazen and brutal crimes against women.

Ground Report On the horrors of West Bengal

Nishant Azad’s ground report for the e-magazine Organiser was an eye-opener that shed light on the tyrannical head Mamta Banerjee and her reign of blood, slaughter and rape. Those who dare defy the supremo or support the opposing party have their fate sealed. The innocent people of Bengal are being killed in daylight while the rest of India remaining tight-lipped on their plight.

Nishant’s ground report starts with the story of Pinky Baj (34), a supporter and polling agent of BJP. Pinky recalls how 50 TMC goons led by Mujaffar Baidya, Mahabur Baidya, Akhar Bhagi, Aja Mullah, Labawali Gazi and others barged into her house. “They started abusing me in the filthiest language. They started beating us with bamboo sticks, iron rods, their bare hands, and destroyed each and everything in the house and looted items worth 3 lakhs,” she said.

“Jaisi tumhari Hindu devi maa Kaali n*ngi hai..waise hi tumko n*nga karenge (the way your Hindu devi Kaali is naked, we will make you naked as well),” she further added.

Another BJP worker Aparna Das was raped and forced to hide her Assamese daughter-in-law from the goons. She said, “They kicked open the door of my house and barged in. They started demanding my daughter-in-law. When they could not find her, they forced themselves on me. Usman then raped me. I kept pleading with him. Pleaded with him saying I am like your mother. Don’t do this to me. All my pleading fell on deaf ears as he continued forcing himself on me. That day I, a Hindu woman, lost my honour to a Muslim goon.”

“Usman then raped me. I kept pleading with him. Pleaded with him saying I am like your mother. Don’t do this to me.“

She further added, “They did not stop at this. Gautam Das advised Usman to kill me lest I lodge a complaint against them. All the four together forced me to open my mouth and forced poison inside. I totally lost consciousness and I don’t even know how and when I was rescued. I plead with you all to ensure I get justice. I, a Hindu woman, got dishonoured by this Muslim TMC goon, and do not wish to remain a mere victim. Please come forward to ensure I get justice.”

In yet another case Diya Guha (21) was raped in front of her father by seven men who took turns to rip the woman off her dignity. She alleges that on May 2, local TMC leader Mamul Sheikh, and 10 to 12 other Muslim TMC goons stormed into her house and started beating up everyone.

They tore my clothes and when my father tried to save me, they beat him up brutally and said, “Nahi hum logon ko tu nahi chahiye..teri beti chahiye .. hum logon ko Hindu ladki chahiye.” (No… we do not want you but your daughter. We want the Hindu girl.)

National Commission for Women

The National Commission for Women (NCW), was the only institute that was quick to take Suo-moto cognizance of the social media reports and in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 10 of the National Commission for Women Act, 1990, constituted an Inquiry Committee under the chair of Smt. Rekha Sharma, Hon’ble Chairperson, NCW.
 
The Inquiry Committee report states, “The National Commission for Women had come across a number of Twitter/ Social Media Posts posting videos, photographs wherein allegedly TMC goons are beating BJP Women Workers in all districts of West Bengal which also includes the heinous crimes like rape and murder. The social media posts highlighted the incidents of Kendamari Village, Nandigram, East Medinipurand one girl was brutally raped and murdered at Village Hamna, P.S-Pingla, West Medinipur, West Bengal post Assembly election results.”
 
The Inquiry Committee visited the spot and submitted its report. Some of the observations of the NCW Committee formed under Chairperson Rekha Sharma are:
 
1) The police officials of the state government are not taking any conclusive or effective steps to provide security to women in the state.
2) All the state government authorities are neglecting the voice of women victims in the state.
3) There are no effective rehabilitation schemes for women in distress in the state.
4) The women of the state are unable to come forward to speak as they are afraid that state authorities/ police authorities will never provide protection. thus, there is no freedom of expression which is a total violation of democratic rights.
5) People are so scared that they cannot move out freely and many of them are taking shelter here and there. Thus, freedom of movement, right to live with dignity etc, which is their Fundamental Right have been totally deprived.
6) The police officials appear to be supporting the Goons instead of protecting people of the state
7) Shelter homes are not available in the state
8) Police officials are not registering the FIRS on the complaints given by the women.
 
The Committee also reported on the atrocities faced by women who were forced to leave their homes and live in exile in their own motherland. The following crimes were highlighted by the women staying at the shelter home:
• Physical assault on the women by the TMC goons
• The houses of the women have been vandalised
• Bombings were carried out on their homes to kill all members
• The women have been receiving rape and threat calls every day.
• The women are forced/pressurised to live in a single room along with other women in this pandemic time
• The women in the shelter house are not getting any medical facilities
• The Women have left their elderly family members at home and no one is there to look after them. They were worried about their welfare.
• Mothers of young girls were worried about the safety of their daughters and want them to leave the state.
• The women have expressed that they were feeling very unsafe in this shelter home as they are not getting any protection from the police or state authorities.
• All women have stated that they do not have enough space to sleep at night and they are staying in a dormitory system with two women sleeping together on the same bed in each dormitory without social distancing and endangering them to high risk of getting COVID 19 virus.

“In lots of places, Muslim TMC goons used “rape”, “mass rape” and murder as a lesson to teach people (mostly Hindus) who voted against them. As per sources, minimum few thousands rape/mass rape cases happened, out of which only about 200 came out. As state police refused to even register FIRs, they’re totally helpless.   Strangely, 99% of the rape victims are Hindu girls/women, except very few ISF/Left Muslim supporters in Bhangar area. In fact, throughout West Bengal, communal violence is going on but state government, state police, state administration & pliable Bengali media are refusing to accept the truth. —Human rights activist and social worker”

The present state of Bengal reminds us of a moment when the current and then Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee said, “I keep knowledge of every inch of the elections. After the election, the security personnel sent by the central government will go back, but if our government is formed then the BJP supporters will plead with folded hands for the central security forces to be stationed for a few more days so that they (BJP supporters) could be saved.”

Questions for Indians to answer

Is this mayhem a state-sponsored crime against women? Are these actions taken at the behest of the supremo Mamta Banerjee? Does the centre have no role or moral obligation to save its citizens? For how long the rest of India will be silent on the daily killings of its own people? Lastly, is the life of a BJP supporter irrelevant?

What is most unsettling about the Bengal violence is the deafening silence of the rest of India. Why a country that happens to have an opinion on everything on this planet seems to be hibernating on these ghastly chains of events? It’s been over a month and the killing doesn’t seem to end. Does a rape in Delhi tantamount to a hue and cry and not in other parts of the country? Is the life of a woman valued on the basis of region, caste, or political affiliation in India? How dead is the conscience of Indians especially Indian women?

This is a women’s issue. An issue that should have garnered headlines, but we struggled to find any ground reports barring few right-leaning media handles. The main tabloids, print and video alike have worn a veil of stoic silence.

Is this the death of the fourth pillar or that of the democracy, you decide.

While women in Bengal continue to live their worst nightmare under a woman supremo.

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Written by Prakriti S