(Source: ECI/ABP News/ABP Majha)
Will You Call It Rape Or Was She Pregnant? CM Mamata Banerjee On Hanskhali Case
Mamata wondered if the Class 9 student was raped or was pregnant even though the family of the deceased girl said she died due to gang rape.
New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday expressed doubt over the alleged gangrape and death of a minor girl at Hanskhali in Nadia district.
Mamata wondered if the Class 9 student was raped or was pregnant even though the family of the deceased girl said she died due to gang rape, PTI reported.
Addressing a gathering while inaugurating the Biswa Banga Mela Prangan in Kolkata, Banerjee said, "The police are yet to understand the cause of the death. I had asked them. Will you call it rape or was she pregnant? Was it (the fallout of) a love affair? Have you enquired about these? This is an unfortunate incident."
The TMC supremo said the victim had an affair with the accused. The accused, a Trinamool Congress leader's son, has been arrested, PTI reported.
"Those who are in relationships should be cautious so that people in the guise of being friends cannot harm them," she said.
On April 5, the girl was reportedly gang-raped at a birthday celebration at the accused's residence. According to her parents, who filed a police report on April 10, she was bleeding excessively when she got home and died later that night.
The Chief Minister also questioned why the girl's relatives filed a police report five days after her death and cremated her remains.
"You (girl's family) also conducted the last rites of the body. I am talking as a layman. From where will they (police) get the evidence whether she was raped or she was pregnant or there was any other reason such as she was slapped by someone after which she fell ill," Banerjee said.
The CM said a detailed investigation was being carried out and she would ask the state commission for protection of child rights to take up the case.
Opposition parties called Banerjee's comments "shocking," alleging that she was attempting to conceal the accused since he was the son of a leader of her party.
"Shocking statement by Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, who trivialises the brutal rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Nadia's Hanskhali. She questions the victim and asks if it was a love affair or a case of unplanned pregnancy gone awry! Because the accused is TMC leader's son, senior BJP leader and the party's co-in charge of West Bengal, Amit Malviya, tweeted.
Shocking statement by Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, who trivialises the brutal rape and murder of a 14 year old girl in Nadia’s Hanskhali. She questions the victim and asks if it was a love affair or a case of unplanned pregnancy gone awry!
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) April 11, 2022
Because the accused is TMC leader’s son. pic.twitter.com/ZaMFL73T03
Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition, echoed him, saying such remarks only show how Banerjee was attempting to influence the investigation and conceal the perpetrators.
"When any such incident occurs in BJP-ruled states, she is the first to protest against it. But when similar incidents take place in West Bengal, she tries to shield the culprits. It is shameful that despite being a woman chief minister, she is making such comments. This is the real picture of the lawless situation of Bengal," he said.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday sought an urgent report from the state chief secretary on the case.
"Urgent response of Chief Secretary is sought on alleged gang rape case of 14-year-old in Nadia as also atrocities on Ram Bhakats. Both highlight the worrisome state of crime against women & nose-diving law & order scenario," Dhankhar tweeted.
— Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) April 11, 2022
The CPI(M) and the Congress also slammed Banerjee for her comments.
Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha and state Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed that several such incidents go unreported in Bengal.
"We don't get to know about them. Now we have come to know about this incident. What has happened is horrific. The ruling party is trying to influence the probe," he said.
Senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty alleged that the incident proves there is lawlessness in Bengal.
The ruling TMC condemned the incident but said it should not be politicised.
"The police are investigating the matter and have also made an arrest. Let the investigation be over. The opposition should not try to politicise the matter," TMC spokesperson and state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said.
(With PTI Inputs)
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