TMC asks Amit Shah to take responsibility for woman's gangrape by BSF men
Kolkata, Aug 28: The Trinamool Congress on Sunday demanded that Union Home Minister Amit Shah take responsibility for the gangrape of a woman allegedly by two BSF personnel in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district.
After visiting the spot where the incident took place along with others, senior TMC leader and minister Dr Shashi Panja also wondered why Shah has been keeping silent over it.
An assistant sub-inspector and a constable of the BSF were arrested late on the night of August 26 on the charge of raping the woman near the Bagda border outpost in North 24 Parganas district. They were suspended and handed over to the state police for further legal action.
The incident of sexual atrocity (was) committed by the BSF on a lady in front of her minor child. We condemn this incident and we ask the Union home minister to take responsibility for this, Panja said in a video statement which was shared on the TMC's official Twitter handle.
The BSF, which ordered a court of enquiry against the two accused, functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Union home minister has continued to maintain silence on this incident. He does take credit for the central armed forces. Then why is he not speaking against or condemning the incident? We demand an apology, we demand a thorough inquiry into this, Panja said.
Panja, the minister of women and child development, also met the district magistrate and inquired about the condition of the victim who was raped when she was allegedly trying to illegally enter Bangladesh from the West Bengal side.
"We could not meet her as she has left for her home in Basirhat (sub-division) with her child after discharge from a hospital. We heard that she is stable now though her child is under trauma, she told PTI.
Panja said that the four-member TMC delegation interacted with people who live near the border area.
"We saw that parts of the border are not properly fenced. We also talked to the locals and heard about their daily experiences which we will communicate to the top party leadership in our report," she said.
Referring to the incident, the TMC had attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Independence Day speech in which he urged people to pledge not to do anything that lowers the dignity of women.
Besides Panja, Naihati MLA Partha Bhowmick, Barasat MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh were members of the delegation that visited Bagda.
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Family of injured driver in murder of Suvendu's aide seeks exemplary punishment
Kolkata (PTI): The family of Buddhabeb Bera, the driver injured in the shooting that killed BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's close aide Chandranath Rath, demanded exemplary punishment for those responsible and urged the new government to ensure such incidents do not happen in West Bengal.
Rath was shot dead in Madhyamgram near Kolkata on Wednesday night, triggering a political storm in the state. Bera, who was driving the vehicle at the time of the attack, sustained gunshot wounds and is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
Family members said they learned about the incident through television and immediately left for Kolkata.
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"We came to know from TV reports that my nephew had been shot. We still do not know who carried out the attack or why it happened," Buddhabeb's uncle Biswajit Bera said.
"Our only wish now is that he recovers and returns home safely," he added.
Buddhabeb, 25, hails from Majnaberia village in the Chandipur police station area in Purba Medinipur district.
According to family members, he mostly stays in Kolkata for work and visits home occasionally during weekends.
Besides his parents, his younger brother, sister-in-law and several relatives have also travelled to Kolkata following the incident.
Demanding strict action against the perpetrators, the uncle said, "We want the government to conduct a proper investigation and identify those directly involved in the crime. They should be given exemplary punishment so that such incidents do not happen again in West Bengal and no other family has to go through this grief."
A neighbour, Ranjana Ghorai, also sought stringent punishment for those behind the attack.
"In our neighbourhood, we call him Sona. We want exemplary punishment for the people responsible for this incident," she said.
Rath's family members have demanded life imprisonment for the accused, while Adhikari has called for capital punishment for those involved in the killing.
