Wonder if minor died after being slapped, Mamata on Hanskhali ‘gang-rape’

By PTI

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday expressed doubt about the reason for a minor lady’s demise which her household attributed to gang rape, and questioned if the category 9 pupil of Hanskhali in Nadia district died after a fall after being slapped by somebody.

Asserting that the sufferer had an affair with the accused, a Trinamool Congress chief’s son who was arrested, Banerjee questioned if she was pregnant.

The chief minister additionally requested why the lady’s members of the family lodged a police grievance 5 days after her demise and cremating the physique.

Opposition events described Banerjee’s assertion as “shocking” and alleged that she seeks to protect the accused as he’s the son of a pacesetter of her celebration.

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar sought an pressing report from the state chief secretary on the alleged gang rape and demise of the minor lady. The lady died after she was allegedly gang-raped at a party on the home of the accused on April 5.

She was bleeding profusely when she returned residence and died later that night time, in line with her mother and father who lodged a police grievance on April 10.

“The police are yet to understand the cause of the death. I had asked them. Will you call it rape or was she pregnant? Was it (the fallout of) a love affair? Have you enquired about these? This is an unfortunate incident,” Banerjee stated whereas inaugurating the Biswa Banga Mela Prangan right here.

She stated that her members of the family and native individuals knew in regards to the affair between the lady and the accused. “You (girl’s family) also conducted the last rites of the body. I am talking as a layman. From where will they (police) get the evidence whether she was raped or she was pregnant or there was any other reason such as she was slapped by someone after which she fell ill,” Banerjee stated.

An in depth investigation is being carried out, she stated including that she is going to ask the state fee for cover of kid rights to take up the case. “I do not have any word to sympathise with the family,” Banerjee stated.

Those who’re in relationships must be cautious so that individuals within the guise of being buddies can not hurt them, she added.

The lady died on April 5 and the police received the knowledge on April 10, the TMC supremo stated and requested about the reason for the delay.

Banerjee additionally alleged {that a} part of the media is making an attempt to tarnish the picture of West Bengal however she would lay down her life to guard her “motherland”.

She questioned why the Press Club Kolkata, in addition to the Press Council of India, are silent when seven journalists had been stripped to their underwear in Madhya Pradesh for allegedly writing studies in opposition to the BJP authorities.

The opposition BJP panned Banerjee for her remark and questioned whether or not her remarks had been geared toward influencing the probe.

“Shocking statement by Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, who trivialises the brutal rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Nadia’s Hanskhali. She questions the victim and asks if it was a love affair or a case of unplanned pregnancy gone awry! Because the accused is TMC leader’s son,” senior BJP chief and the celebration’s co-in cost of West Bengal, Amit Malviya, tweeted.

Echoing him, the Leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari stated such form of feedback solely show how Banerjee is making an attempt to affect the probe and protect the culprits.

“When any such incident occurs in BJP-ruled states, she is the first to protest against it. But when similar incidents take place in West Bengal, she tries to shield the culprits. It is shameful that despite being a woman chief minister, she is making such comments. This is the real picture of the lawless situation of Bengal,” he stated.

The CPI(M) and the Congress additionally slammed Banerjee for her feedback.

Leader of the Congress celebration in Lok Sabha and state Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed that a number of such incidents taking place in West Bengal go unreported.

“We don’t get to know about them. Now we have come to know about this incident. What has happened is horrific. The ruling party is trying to influence the probe,” he stated.

Senior CPI(M) chief Sujan Chakraborty alleged that the incident proves there may be lawlessness in Bengal.

The ruling TMC condemned the incident however stated it shouldn’t be politicised.

“The police are investigating the matter and have also made an arrest. Let the investigation be over. The opposition should not try to politicise the matter,” TMC spokesperson and state basic secretary Kunal Ghosh stated.

The lady’s mom had on Sunday advised reporters that from the sequence of occasions and after speaking to the individuals current on the celebration, “we are sure she was gang-raped by the accused and his friends”.

She additionally alleged {that a} group of individuals forcibly took the minor’s physique for cremation even earlier than her demise certificates was issued.

Meanwhile, a petition was filed earlier than the Calcutta High Court on Monday searching for a CBI probe into the alleged rape and resultant demise of the minor lady. The petitioner’s lawyer stated the matter is more likely to be talked about earlier than the courtroom on Tuesday.