Gang of 10 molests schoolgirl in Kolkata suburb, cops call it 'small incident'

July 29, 2012

eveteasing Barasat, July 29: An 18-year-old girl was surrounded by a group of 10 youths, abused and molested near Barasat station on Friday night in a chilling parallel with the stripping of a girl by a mob in Guwahati earlier this month. The rogues also slapped and shoved the girl's father, who had answered her SOS and rushed to her help, before being chased away by angry local residents, unlike in Guwahati where the hapless victim was at the mob's mercy for almost half an hour. Two of the Barasat molesters have been arrested.

But Saturday morning added insult to injury when Barasat's Trinamool Congress MLA and former Tollywood megastar Chiranjeet appeared to blame women for incidents of eve-teasing when he took a dig at women's "dress sense" and "their skirt sizes" that he felt were for "men's entertainment". He did condemn Friday's incident, but the remark on skirt sizes from a man who played crusader and women's saviour on the Tolly screen in bumper hits like 'Bostir Meye Radha', 'Pratikaar' and 'Maryada', drew howls of protest from across the city, including filmstars, who said such "irresponsible" comments weren't expected from an artist.

The place where the girl was attacked, near Platform No.1, wasn't far from the spot where Rajib Das, a schoolboy, was murdered on February 13 last year as he tried to shield his sister, a call centre employee, from drunk goons. It raised questions about the spate of crimes in the bustling town that serves as district headquarters of North 24-Parganas. Six months after Das's murder, the wife of a Kolkata Police Special Branch constable was attacked by three motorcycle-borne youths, who tried to snatch her chain. She escaped with a wound, but her mother-in-law had a heart attack and died. The area is close to the DM's office and the bungalows of the SP and additional SP and Barasat court.

Chiranjeet visited the girl at her home in Barasat's Banamalipur around 4.30 pm, but did not speak to the media after that.

His line of thought, though, found curious resonance in the reaction of North 24-Paragnas police superintendent Champak Bhattacharya, who described the events of Friday as a "small incident". "To my understanding, this is not an incident of eve-teasing. This is a small incident. Someone passed lewd comments and assaulted the girl's father. We have arrested the main culprits. Allegations of lack of policing are baseless. There are sufficient lights and people deployed. Such one-off incidents can't be indicative of deteriorating law and order," he said.

The "small incident" triggered considerable public outrage and an immediate backlash. Local residents nabbed one of the molesters, 28-year-old Ramesh Das, thrashed him and handed him over to the police. His interrogation led to the arrest of Subhankar Das (30) on Saturday morning. Both were produced in Barasat district court and sent to jail custody for 14 days.

The victim, a class XII student of Barasat's Priyanath Girls High School, and her friend were returning home from geography tuitions when they the group pounced on them. The girls were headed for the overbridge to cross over from Noapara to Banamalipur when the group, seated on a bench front of a tea stall, first taunted them and made lewd comments. The remarks were targeted specifically at the 18-year-old girl. She first ignored the taunts but protested as the barrage of abuses refused to stop. At that, two youths blocked her path and another tugged at her hand. The scared girl called her father — an employee with the Barasat zilla parishad. "I reached there within minutes. I protested and asked them to step out of the way. When they refused, I screamed angrily. They heckled me, slapped me and shoved me on the road," he said on Saturday. By then, locals had started gathering there. Sensing danger, the youths fled. "Had my father and the local residents not intervened, I shudder to think what would have happened. They beat up my father mercilessly," the girl said.

Chiranjeet's remarks came on the sidelines of a Science Fair inauguration at Barasat auditorium. Describing eve-teasing as an "ancient incident", he said, "The Ramayana would never be made if Ravan wasn't there. With only Ram... there would be no story. Eve-teasing is an ancient incident. It is not new... for its reasons, to some extent, even women are involved. Their skirt size, their dress sense that is definitely for entertainment. For whom? Men, obviously. But that is to be appreciated — to be praised. If someone passes lewd comments, it should be protested. Something like this happened here yesterday. "

State women's commission chairperson Sunanda Mukherjee remarked, "We are supposed to move forward and not backward. Are we in a stage where people hunt one another? I will not comment on the MLA's statement — everyone is supposed to have their own opinion — but the spurt of such incidents is worrisome."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 7,2020

Jan 7: India’s monetary authority allowed banks to offer foreign-currency transactions outside of local market hours, a move aimed at boosting trading volumes at home.

Interbank deals, as well as those with customers in and outside India, can be undertaken by banks or their overseas branches and units at all times, the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement late Monday. It stopped short of saying whether the timing of the onshore over-the-counter market has been extended from the current 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The move is in line with recent recommendations to reverse the trend of the partially convertible rupee being traded more abroad than in India. London has overtaken Mumbai to become the top center for trading the rupee, adding to a sense of urgency among local authorities to deepen the onshore market.

Average daily volumes for rupee in the U.K. soared to $46.8 billion in April, a more than fivefold jump from $8.8 billion in 2016, according to a survey from the Bank for International Settlements published in September. That exceeded the $34.5 billion recorded in India.

Analysts say more trading abroad could amplify volatility in the domestic market and reduce the effectiveness of policy actions.

India’s decision comes as the London Stock Exchange Group Plc has started asking market participants if they want the bourse to function fewer hours, signaling it’s open to an argument driven by changing trading patterns and calls for a better work-life balance.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: India on Wednesday took strong exception to China claiming sovereignty over the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, saying its "exaggerated and untenable claims" are contrary to the understanding reached on the issue between the two sides.

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava's response came after China claimed that the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh is a part of its territory.

"As we have conveyed earlier today, External Affairs Minister and the State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China had a phone conversation on recent developments in Ladakh," Srivastava said late Wednesday night.

"Both sides have agreed that the overall situation should be handled in a responsible manner and that the understandings reached between Senior Commanders on 6th June should be implemented sincerely. Making exaggerated and untenable claims is contrary to this understanding," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, India delivered a strong message to China that the "unprecedented" incident in the Galwan Valley will have a "serious impact" on the bilateral relationship and held the "pre-meditated" action by Chinese army directly responsible for the violence that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead.

In a telephonic conversation, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Wang Wi India's protest in the "strongest terms" and said the Chinese side should reassess its actions and take corrective steps, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry, in a statement, said the two sides agreed to "cool down the situation on the ground as soon as possible", and maintain peace and tranquillity in the border area in accordance with the agreement reached so far between the two countries.

The clash in Galwan Valley on Monday night is the biggest confrontation between the two militaries after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La in 1967 when India lost around 80 soldiers while over 300 Chinese army personnel were killed.

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long LAC. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet, while India contests it.

Prior to the clashes, both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 4,2020

New Delhi, Feb 4: Senior BJP leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday accused Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party of not implementing the central government's schemes in the national capital.

Addressing an election rally in Moti Bagh, he also sought to allay fears over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), assuring the gathering that the legislation will not take away anyone's citizenship.

Singh alleged that the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government did not do anything in the last five years.

The AAP had promised to add 5,000 buses to the fleet of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), but instead the number has come down by 1,000, he claimed.

The Union minister said the AAP dispensation did not implement central schemes in Delhi fearing that the popularity of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government will grow among Delhiites.

Pension schemes and the Centre's flagship health insurance scheme, Ayushman Bharat Yojana, are some of those that the Kejriwal government did not allow to be implemented in Delhi.

On the anti-CAA protests, Singh said that the opposition parties have been spreading "lies" about amended citizenship law and the National Population Register (NPR).

"The CAA will not take away anyone's citizenship. The opposition parties are spreading lies about the CAA. There should be no such politics over this. Some people are trying to write the history of the country with the ink of hatred," he said.

The culture of India is such that it considers the entire world one family, he said.

Delhi goes to polls on February 8. The results will be declared on February 11.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.