People's Democracy

Rape as a Weapon of

Political Vendetta in West Bengal

WEST Bengal witnessed one of the most horrific instances of rape being used as a political tool in Amta in Howrah, West Bengal. In order to take revenge for the political defeat in the panchayat elections, TMC goons broke open the door of the house of their opponent and gang raped 27 year old housewife along with one of her 43-year old in-law. The incident took place on 4th February 2014 at about 10.30pm, in Muktirchak gram in Howrah under Amta police station limits. Both the housewife and her in-law are admitted in Uluberia hospital with serious injuries.

The women were raped for not bowing to the dictates of the TMC in the area. In the panchayat election the TMC had unleashed rampant rigging, violence, anarchy all through Amta. It was in Mukhtirchak, a village comprising of mainly Scheduled Caste people, that they faced resistance. Here in spite of all odds in seat No. 14 CPI(M) supported independent candidate Vivekananda Gayen got 554 votes while TMC candidate Barun Makal got barely 49 votes. In seat No.15 the CPI(M) supported independent candidate Nabakumar Patra won more comprehensively getting 562 votes whereas TMC candidate Ranjit Mondal got only 10 votes. This frustrated the TMC leaders and cadres in the area. To take vengeance for this defeat the TMC henchmen have been continuously harassing people ever since the results were declared. Twenty five houses have been broken down. Two shops have been ransacked and valuables looted. Two pumping machines and other farming equipments have been stolen. A police picket has been posted in the village barely 500 metres from the place where the incident took place but to no avail.

On 17th December 2013 the villagers had protested against the move to construct roads keeping the elected representative in the panchayat in the dark. The TMC panchayat samity tried to get the work done by bringing TMC supporters from other villages. When the villagers protested they brought their miscreants from the neighbouring villages and had attacked the village and the villagers mercilessly. As the villagers protested, false cases were hurled against them with the help of the police.

This chain of violence since the panchayat elections reached its most brutal form with rape of the two women, who are CPI(M) supporters. After the incident on 17th December the CPI(M) workers were forced to vacate their houses and had fled. Many of them had been arrested by the police on false charges. They were not being allowed to cultivate their land. The male family members of the ones who have been raped had to leave their home. The husband of one of those raped, was only released from jail 19 days back after being arrested on false charges. Their ordeal however did not stop with the rape only. When the mother in-law went to the police camp, barely half a kilometer away, for assistance, the police asked to to which party does she belonged to! Such is the level to which the administration and the police have stooped to in West Bengal since the TMC came to power.

A Left Front delegation led by Biman Basu, chairman of the Left Front Committee in West Bengal, visited the two women at the Uluberia hospital, where they are being treated. Addressing a gathering after the visit to the hospital, Biman Basu said, in Mukhtirchak right from the time of the panchayat election the Leftists were not being allowed to say anything. After the result was declared what the TMC wanted did not happen. The Leftists could not be washed off. So the first target was to make the people of the locality leave the village. After that to frighten the mothers and the wives the TMC has employed such brutal and barbaric incident of rape.

The two main accused in this case are those very TMC candidates who were defeated in the panchayat elections. One of them, Barun Makhal, has been arrested while Ranjit Mondal  has not been booked yet. In fact the raped women have specifically named Makhal and Mondal.