New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday demanded Union Home Minister Amit Shah to take responsibility for the alleged gangrape of a woman, who was trying to illegally enter Bangladesh from India, by two BSF personnel. According to a report by news agency PTI, after visiting the spot where the incident took place, senior TMC leader and minister Dr Shashi Panja wondered why Shah has been keeping silent over it.
“The incident of sexual atrocity (was) committed by the BSF on a lady in front of her minor child. We condemn this incident and we ask the Union home minister to take responsibility for this,” Panja said in a video statement shared on the TMC’s official Twitter handle.
“The Union home minister has continued to maintain silence on this incident. He does take credit for the central armed forces. Then why is he not speaking against or condemning the incident? We demand an apology, we demand a thorough inquiry into this,” Panja added.
Notably, a BSF assistant sub-inspector (ASI) and a constable were arrested late on Friday night on the charge of raping the woman near Bagda border outpost in North 24 Parganas district. They were handed over to West Bengal Police for further legal action.
READ | 2 BSF Personnel Arrested For Raping Woman In Bengal, TMC Reminds PM Modi His 'Nari Shakti' Remarks
Panja, the minister of women and child development, also met the district magistrate and inquired about the victim’s condition.
"We could not meet her as she has left for her home in Basirhat (sub-division) with her child after discharge from a hospital. We heard that she is stable now though her child is under trauma,” Panja said.
"We saw that parts of the border are not properly fenced. We also talked to the locals and heard about their daily experiences which we will communicate to the top party leadership in our report," she added.
Besides Panja, Naihati MLA Partha Bhowmick, Barasat MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh also visited Bagda.
It is to be noted that the BSF, which ordered a court of enquiry against the two accused, functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs.