The National Commission for Women announced on Monday that a team led by its chairperson, Rekha Sharma, is traveling to Howrah to look into a horrifying case of violence against a woman. They proceed to Malda, where two tribal women were allegedly stripped naked, tortured, and brutally beaten a few days ago, according to NCW in a Tweet. The tweet from NCW stated, “The NCW team is in Kolkata with The Chairperson @sharmarekha and heading to Howrah to investigate the horrific case of a woman who was brutally assaulted, molested, and paraded naked by political goons.”
“Thereafter they will be headed to Malda. The team from NCW shall take into account its findings after interaction with all the concerned authorities; recommend remedial measures for preventing recurrence of such incidences in future,” read the tweet further.
On July 21, a BJP worker from Howrah’s South Panchala claimed that during the recent panchayat polls in the state, she was dragged outside the polling booth and her clothes were ripped off. The woman said that she has filed an FIR in the incident.
On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party charged chief minister Mamata Banerjee on July 22 with failing to give women in the State security. In response, the Trinamool Congress, which is in power under Mamata Banerjee, claimed that the BJP was unnecessarily politicking the matter and that the women had been caught stealing, which had incensed the locals.
BJP’s IT department head Amit Malviya took to Twitter to post a purported video, that has surfaced on social media, of the incident, which he claimed took place on July 19 in Pakua Hat, a weekly market, of Bamangola Police Station in Malda.
Women and Child Development Minister of West Bengal Shashi Panja said, “There is absolutely no need to politicise the Malda incident. It was a case of theft, where the two ladies tried to steal something from the market. A group of women tried to take law and order into their hands and started beating them. However, the police reached the spot. A case has been registered and police are investigating the matter.”