Author: Sabyasachi Bandopadhyay
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: March 9, 2004
In a shocking incident that has
left CPI(M) leaders red-faced, two women-one of them pregnant-were allegedly
raped and three molested by drunk Holi revellers on Saturday at Shaktigarh
village in Burdwan district. Of the eight persons arrested in connection
with the incident, one is reported to he a CPI(M) supporter.
"Medical examination of one of the
women has confirmed the rape and we are waiting for the other's medical
report. We have already arrested eight people and lodged a case against
them," Inspector General, Law and Order, Chayan Mukherjee told The Indian
F-Tress. He, however, said he had no knowledge that any of those arrested
had any connection with the CPI(M).
According to the plaints lodged
by the women and their parents, on Saturday, the five women, after playing
Holi, went to the village pond for a bath. Soon, the miscreants gathered
there and started molesting them on the pretext of smearing them with gulal.
As the women tried to run away, the miscreants caught hold of them, and
while two of them were dragged into a room and raped, three of them were
molested, according to the complaint. The miscreants even beat up those
who tried to offer resistance, the complaint said.
The CPI(M) which took out a procession
in protest against the incident on Sunday, however, denied that a of their
men was involved in the case. "None among the arrested is a party member,"
said a party official from Bardhaman.
The State Assembly today saw uproarious
scenes on the issue. While the Trinamool Congress sought to raise an adjournment
motion, the Congress and SUCI members staged a walk-out.
Meanwhile, in another incident,
one hen Deo Mahato was killed by drunk Holi revellers at Shivpur in Howrah
district. While two persons had been arrested, the police are looking for
four other people who are absconding.
"Mahato went to the house of a person
known to him and started playing Holi. But when the people of that house
tried to smear him with colours he objected and brandished a knife. People
got angry at this and beat him up. Doctors declared him dead when he was
taken to hospital," Howrah superintendent of Police Mihir Bhattacharya
told The Indian Express.
