Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is under fire for claiming a 14-year-old girl was enjoying a love affair, despite being under fire for the murder of the girl allegedly as a result of gangrape. Ms Banerjee struck back at critics on Monday, querying why the body was burned before a postmortem and the complaint was submitted five days later. Despite this, she stated that the police had taken action in the case and made an arrest “regardless of (political) color,” adding that something like this “doesn’t happen in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, or Delhi.”
The minor girl’s relatives claimed she was gangraped after she died shortly after attending a birthday celebration in south Bengal’s Nadia district. A man in his 20s, the son of a local Trinamool official, has been arrested as the primary culprit in the case.
Making a infuriatingly misogynistic comment Ms. Banerjee claimed that family and neighbourhood knew there was also a love affair and for an add on she also questioned the victims character asking “If a boy and girl are in love, it is not my job to stop it. This is not UP, that we will go on about love jihad. It is a freedom (to fall in love)”. The state, she said, will ensure that if there is a crime, action will be taken. In the current case, action has been taken, she said.
“You tell me, if someone dies on the 5th and there are queries and complaints about it — why not file a complaint on the 5th itself? You went ahead and cremated the body? I’m speaking here as a layman, without knowing all of it. How will they (the police) get any evidence? If there was a rape, or pregnancy or any other reason…” the Chief Minister said at function.
The family claims that the Trinamool leaders’ son pushed them to cremate the remains, according to reports. The police are investigating why the complaint was not filed sooner.
“There has been an arrest and we are not looking into any (political) colour here. Please remember, this doesn’t happen in Madhya Pradesh. Doesn’t happen in UP, Rajasthan, Delhi. This is Bengal this happens here. And you are talking of Trinamool, the whole of Bengal is Trinamool. Why drag Trinamool into it?” the Chief Minister added.
But it is the Chief Minister’s critique of the reportage of the case and her questioning of the circumstances leading to the crime, that has left room for further criticism. “This is a land of 12 crore people. Ram Navami was observed across India. So many things happened. Did a single incident take place here?” Ms Banerjee said.
Chiding the media for not giving adequate coverage to incidents related to Ram Navami, she added, “So many festivals take place here. No incidents take place. But if a single incident takes place, even if a small one among many, we don’t like it. But much is made of it. The police still do not know. I asked – you are showing that a girl died after rape. Was it rape, or was she pregnant or a love affair? Have you conducted any inquiry?”
“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.
A detailed investigation is being carried out, she said adding that she will ask the state commission for protection of child rights to take up the case.
“I do not have any word to sympathise with the family,” Banerjee said.
Those who are in relationships should be cautious so that people in the guise of being friends cannot harm them, she added.
The father of the victim said, “On April 4, my daughter went to a birthday party at the invitation of Samar Goala’s son. They dropped my daughter off at 7.30 in the evening. I was not at home but my wife was there. She told me one woman and two men had come to drop my daughter off. We didn’t know them. We only knew our daughter went to Samar Goala’s house for his son’s birthday party.”
He added, “She was bleeding after she came back from that party. In the wee hours the next morning, as her condition deteriorated, we went out looking for a doctor. By the time we came back, she had died. She was raped by Samar Goala’s son. My daughter and that boy were in a love relationship.”
The victim’s mother said, “They took my daughter to that birthday party around 4 pm. Samar Goala’s son raped my daughter. Those who came to leave her that evening threatened us with torching our house if we opened our mouths. Which is why we didn’t say anything. But now I am demanding punishment.”
Ms Banerjee’s government, which won a landslide win against the BJP last year, has been criticized for acts of political violence, including as the recent killings in Birbhum.
Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has requested an urgent report on the Nadia matter from the state Chief Secretary.
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