KOLKATA: Amid the furore over the alleged gangrape and murder of a minor girl in West Bengal’s Hanskhali, the ruling Trinamool Congress is witnessing difference of opinion among its leaders.
While MP Saugata Roy expressed concern over crimes again women in the state ruled by a woman CM, another MP said the issued can’t be tied to the CM’s gender.
“Everyone is worried about the crimes against women. I don’t know whether it is because of media coverage or not. But everyone is expressing his or her concern over the issue. We will have to ensure zero tolerance on this issue. In a state where the chief minister is a woman, if such a single incident takes place, it will be shameful to everyone. I expect the police administration to keep a watch,” said Roy while attending a programme in his Dum Dum constituency.
His comment comes days after a minor girl died after being allegedly gang raped by the son of a ruling TMC panchayat leader at Hanskhali and Calcutta High Court handed over the investigation into it to the CBI.
The court has also directed that investigation into four recent rape cases in different parts of the state will be done under the supervision of senior IPS officer Damayanti Sen, who is at present a special commissioner of Kolkata Police.
Reacting to his comment, party MP Satabdi Roy said "I don't think what Sougata Roy said is right. Does the chief minister want such incidents to occur? All we can say is that such incidents are shameful."
"What does he mean by women chief minister? Does having a male chief minister justify the crimes against women? The state government has taken all necessary action to control crime against women," she said.
Echoing her, TMC state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar said that atrocities against women are shameful for the entire society.
"It is condemnable irrespective of having a women chief minister or a male chief minister," he said.
Part state general secretary and spokesperson Kunal Ghosh asserted that women are safe and secure in West Bengal under Banerjee's leadership.
"I don't want to comment on what he (Roy) has said. The women of the state are safe and secure in West Bengal under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee. The chief minister herself directed the police to take stern action," he said.
The opposition parties asked Roy to share this piece of "advice" with Banerjee instead of making statements in public.
"Whatever he has said is right. But he should say this to his party supremo Mamata Banerjee and ask her to stop the lawless situation in the state. Until and unless he does that, it seems his comments are an attempt to play to the gallery," BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said.
Echoing him, state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury wondered whether Roy would also condemn the statements made by the chief minister.
"Roy has been saying many things that sound music to our ears. But will he condemn the statements made by the chief minister after the Hanskhali incident? He should do that first," Chowdhury, also the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, said.
Banerjee had, on April 11, publicly expressed doubt over the cause of the minor girl's death, which her family attributed to gang rape and had wondered if she died after being slapped by someone.
She had claimed that the victim was in a relationship with the accused and had wondered whether she was pregnant, a comment which was roundly criticized by opposition parties.
Senior CPI (M) leader Sujan Chakraborty welcomed Roy's statement but wondered whether he would say it to Banerjee.
"It seems he has realized that Bengal has earned a bad reputation for its lawless situation. But he should first ask the chief minister to establish the rule of law in the state," he said.
The minor girl, a student of standard nine, was allegedly gang raped on April 4 at a birthday party at the house of a TMC panchayat leader's son at Hanskhali in Nadia district, according to a police complaint filed by her parents.
She bled to death hours later, the complaint said.
The girl's father has claimed that the son of the panchayat leader had snatched his daughter's body at gunpoint and cremated her.
The girl's parents have also alleged that they were threatened with dire consequences if they reported the incident to the police.
Two persons, including the TMC leader's son, have been arrested so far in connection with the case.
DGP Manoj Malviya was sharing the stage with Roy at the event. However, party MP Shatabdi Roy disagreed with her veteran colleague.
Earlier, CM Mamata Banerjee’s remark about the incident — if the victim and the accused were in a relationship had attracted flak.
CBI sleuths on Thursday broke open the lock and searched the residence of the prime accused in the alleged gang rape rape case, an officer of the probe body said.
The house is where the alleged crime was committed on April 4 and the investigating agency collected samples from there before locking the house, he said.
The CBI sleuths were accompanied by personnel of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory and the entire search operation and evidence collection were videographed, he said.
The search continued till late on Thursday night due to a power cut in the area.
The central investigating agency has been directed by Calcutta High Court to probe the incident in which the prime accused is the son of a ruling TMC leader of Hanskhali panchayat.
"The power cut slowed our search operation at the house. We have collected several samples from the room where the alleged crime was carried out. They will be sent for forensic tests," the CBI officer said.
During the CBI search locals approached its sleuths and claimed that the men and boys of the area are being threatened by the family and accomplices of the accused.
They also requested for protection.
The district police has already arrested the prime accused Sohail Goyali and his friend Prabhakar Poddar.
The CBI team, which has two woman officers, is expected to conduct another round of search operation at the residence of the accused and its surrounding area on Friday in connection with the investigation in the crime, the officer said.
The team had reached Hanshkhali on Wednesday night and collected the case diary and other documents related to the probe conducted by the district police.
"We may go and meet the parents the girl on Friday and record their statement," the officer said.
The girl's father had claimed on Wednesday that the accused had snatched his daughter's body at gunpoint and cremated her.
The family had lodged the police complaint on April 10.
(With PTI Inputs)