Kolkata: Amid the outrage over a video from Manipur where his party is in power, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) West Bengal co-incharge Amit Malviya shared a clip Saturday claiming that two tribal women were stripped and tortured in West Bengal’s Malda district.
The video shows several women assaulting two women who were accused of theft at a spot teeming with people. “The horrific incident took place on the morning of 19th July. The women belonged to socially marginalised community and had a frenzied mob baying for her blood,” Malviya wrote on Twitter, taking a swipe at the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).
He also accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of shedding “copious tears” and screaming “blue murder” — referring to her reaction to the incident from Manipur where two women were stripped and paraded — “because it was politically expedient”.
The horror continues in West Bengal. Two Tribal women were stripped naked, tortured and beaten mercilessly, while police remained a mute spectator in Pakua Hat area of Bamangola Police Station, Malda.
The horrific incident took place on the morning of 19th July. The women… pic.twitter.com/tyve54vMmg
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) July 22, 2023
Soon, the BJP and the ruling TMC were caught in a war of words over the episode that took place at a weekly market in Malda’s Bamongola area.
Malda Superintendent of Police Pradeep Kumar Yadav, meanwhile, confirmed to the media that a suo motu FIR had been filed and an investigation is underway.
The incident in question took place earlier this week at the weekly market place where five women from Manikchak were caught stealing, according to local media reports. While three others managed to escape, two were apprehended by the crowd, reports added.
Meanwhile, TMC minister Shashi Panja called it a case of of two ladies trying to steal from the market. “A group of women tried to take law and order into their hands and started beating them. Police reached the spot and a civic volunteer tried to stop the altercation, but was overpowered. The police are investigating the case,” she said at a press briefing.
Asked about criticism of the BJP for the situation in Manipur, Union WCD minister Smriti Irani attacked the Congress for remaining a “mute spectator to the killings of the innocents in the state of West Bengal all because it is hungry for collaboration with the TMC”.
Similarly, West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar questioned Mamata Banerjee’s silence and asked why the opposition alliance was not taking a stand on the Malda incident, as it did over the incident in Manipur.
On July 21, 2023, in Malda Manikchak, two women were stripped naked and subjected to medieval barbarity even in the presence of the police. Despite the prolonged incident, Mamata's police remained mere spectators. https://t.co/qmHScOUuaq
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— BJP Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) July 22, 2023
Panja, however, slammed the BJP, saying leaders in the opposition in West Bengal want to “politicise each and every issue”.
“Yesterday, they spread misinformation about Howrah and today about Malda (that a BJP candidate was stripped and paraded naked on poll day). It’s not a political issue, but a local one. They want to divert the attention of the people from the Manipur incident,” she added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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