5 people detained following video showing 2 women being stripped and assaulted in West Bengal.

Summary:

• Five people have been arrested in Malda, West Bengal, after a video surfaced showing a group of women stripping and brutally attacking two other women.
• The incident took place in a weekly village bazaar on July 18.
• The two survivors of the assault have been detained by the police and are currently undergoing treatment.
• The arrested individuals include three women.
• The two victims, who are lemon-sellers, were caught stealing money from tribal women, leading to the assault.
• Police intervened and rescued the victims from the violent mob.
• The video of the assault triggered a political controversy, with opposition leaders criticizing the government’s handling of women’s security.
• The BJP leaders highlighted the similarity of the incident to other crimes against women in non-BJP governed states.
• Bengal’s women and child development minister condemned the act and assured appropriate action would be taken.
• The minister clarified that the assault was not politically motivated and accused the BJP of using diversionary tactics.
• She also mentioned there was no evidence to support a complaint in another incident where a BJP candidate was allegedly stripped and assaulted.

Details:

Five people have been arrested in Malda, West Bengal, after a video surfaced showing a group of women brutally attacking two other women. The incident took place in a weekly village bazaar on July 18. The two survivors of the assault have been detained by the police and are currently undergoing treatment. Among the five arrested individuals, three are women.

The victims, who are lemon-sellers from Najirpur, were caught stealing money from some tribal women, which led to their assault. The attackers ripped off their saris, dragged them by their hair, and subjected them to severe physical violence.

Police intervened and rescued the victims from the violent mob. Senior officers visited the village and registered a case. The video of the assault has triggered a political controversy, with opposition leaders referring to it as “Manipur revisited.” They compared it to a similar incident in Manipur where two women were stripped, molested, and paraded naked by a mob.

The BJP leadership criticized the government’s handling of women’s security. Union minister Anurag Thakur and BJP IT department head Amit Malviya highlighted the incident, pointing out its similarity to other unfortunate crimes against women in Bihar and Rajasthan, which are governed by non-BJP parties. BJP MP Khagen Murmu even staged a demonstration demanding the resignation of the officer and the Chief Minister.

Bengal’s women and child development minister, Shashi Panja, condemned the act and assured that appropriate action would be taken. She emphasized that the assault was not politically motivated and accused the BJP of using diversionary tactics by citing incidents from other states. Panja also mentioned that there was no evidence to support a complaint in another incident in Howrah’s Panchla, where a BJP candidate was allegedly stripped and assaulted.