Sandeshkhali rape survivor alleges attack on her home

A woman who has alleged sexual assault by local Trinamool Congress leaders in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali

A woman who has alleged sexual assault by local Trinamool Congress leaders in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali on February 18 said that miscreants ransacked her house on February 17.

“Last night, I was not at home. A group of miscreants came and attacked the house. They hurled abuses at me and my father-in-law,” the survivor told The Hindu. 

These allegations come only a day after West Bengal Police went on record and said that it had added charges of gangrape on the basis of a complaint by the woman before a magistrate. The woman made these allegations before the magistrate on February 16 and named local Trinamool Congress leaders Uttam Sardar and Shiboprasad Hazra in her complaint.

“They wanted to kill me. Had I been at the house at night, they would have certainly killed me,” the survivor said, pointing to parts of her thatched house that appeared to have been damaged.

The woman said that no protection had been provided to her by the police after she lodged the complaint. “I had thought that they would spare me after I made a complaint to the authorities, but things are getting difficult every day. We deserve at least some dignity,” she said.

The woman said that those who had attacked her house identified themselves as the “police” and were angry with her for registering the complaint of sexual assault. Despite the arrest of local Trinamool leaders Uttam Sardar (on February 10) and Shiboprasad Hazra (on February 17), the survivor said that she did not feel safe as their supporters were still roaming free. The survivor reached out to other women of the island, who arrived at her house and suggested that she should lodge a police complaint.

The police officials at Sandeshkhali denied receiving any complaint on the attack on the survivor’s house till Sunday afternoon. On Saturday, West Bengal Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar had said that the police had reached out to the survivor but she chose to make allegations under Section 164 of Cr.P.C before the magistrate. The West Bengal Police have also claimed that they helped the survivor reach out to the magistrate.