Baruipur, April 18: A 30-year-old woman lay bleeding in front of her home for two hours after allegedly being molested and beaten up by rowdies on Sunday while police looked the other way. She says she was stripped and assaulted in front of her father, a retired scientist, by their landlord and members of a local club.
Police took their time responding to her SOS. The two policemen who finally arrived did not bother to take a complaint, or help her and her father, Aparesh Bhattacharya, get to a hospital. They left them bleeding on the road. They picked themselves up and went to SSKM to get their wounds treated and could file a complaint at Baruipur police station only on Tuesday.
The main accused, Goutam Pal, denies the charges. On Tuesday, Pal's wife filed a counter complaint, accusing the elderly scientist of molesting her. Locals are too scared to talk about the incident, saying that those accused in the assault are members of both Trinamool Congress and CPM.
The woman, a law graduate, and her father rented Pal's first-floor apartment in Mullickpur, South 24-Parganas, in February this year after Bhattacharya retired from the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology. Soon after moving in, he proposed to buy the flat from Pal but the two parties got into a legal wrangle over the purchase agreement. Pal started asking Bhattacharya to vacate the flat in March.
According to the Bhattacharyas, a gang of around 20 men barged into the house around 1.30pm on Sunday and attacked them. The goons stripped the woman, molested her and dragged the father-daughter out on to the street where the assault continued. Someone informed Baruipur police station but the goons had left well before the cops arrived.
"We were shaken, scared and helpless. Around 3pm, when two policemen came, we felt relieved but they refused to help us. Leave alone taking a complaint, they would not help us get to hospital," said Bhattacharya.
"I get a chill down my spine whenever I think about the incident. They tore my clothes, molested me and assaulted me and my father. There were so many of them. We were just two. I want the guilty to be punished," she told TOI on Tuesday. The homeless duo went to Baruipur police station on Tuesday along with a lawyer and lodged a police complaint.
"I do not know the names of the club members who raided our house because we are new in the locality. But I know at least four of them by face. One of them is secretary of the club. They must have some political clout or else how would they dare commit such rowdism in broad daylight," said Bhattacharya.
Police have registered a case of attempt to rape, molestation and grievous injury against Pal and others. On Tuesday Pal's wife also lodged a complaint accusing the Bhattacharyas of attacking her.
"The Bhattacharyas wanted to buy the flat for 40 lakh and gave Rs 2 lakh as advance. When they defaulted on paying the rest, we asked them to vacate the house. How can they forcefully occupy it? When I went to my house, the retired scientist misbehaved with me and their pet dogs pounced on me and my relative. On hearing our screams, the club members came to our rescue," she said.
Neighbours who witnessed the incident are too scared to speak. "I saw a group of men entering the house and heard the father-daughter pleading. But since Pal is very influential and the club members are affiliated to both Trinamool and CPM, none of us dared to protest. Whatever happened was very unfortunate but we could not help the Bhattacharyas," said a neighbour.
Trinamool MLA Biman Banerjee denied the club was involved. "The dispute is between the landlord and the tenant. Some club members must have gone there on hearing of the incident but they had no direct role. Let the law take its course," said Banerjee, the assembly speaker.
CPM district secretary Sujan Chabraborty said: "I do not want to get into the dispute on the possession of the house as it will be decided by court. But I strongly protest the atrocity on the woman."
"Both the parties have been fighting a legal case regarding the purchase of the flat for sometime now. On Tuesday we received complaint from both sides. We are investigating them," said additional SP (rural) South 24-Parganas Kankar Prasad Barui.
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