Woman in Chopra flogging incident refuses to meet West Bengal Governor

West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose cuts short visit after woman refuses to meet, highlighting violence issues in the state.

West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose was on Tuesday forced to cut short his visit to north Bengal after the woman, who was seen publicly being beaten up in a video that went viral, allegedly refused an audience with the administrative head of the State.

“The victim wants to be left alone, and I will respect her right,” Mr. Bose told journalists at a guest house in Siliguri in north Bengal, before returning to Delhi.

Also read: West Bengal Governor seeks report from Mamata on public flogging of couple

The Governor had flown from Bagdogra in north Bengal in a morning flight on Tuesday, and elaborate arrangements were made, including the deployment of police at the village in Chopra in Uttar Dinajpur, where the video of a man mercilessly beating a man and a woman went viral a few days ago.

After the video sent shock waves across the country, the Islampur police suo motu arrested Tajimul Islam, the man allegedly beating up the couple, and he has been remanded to five days in police custody.

Instead of demanding action against the perpetrators of violence, the survivor from Chopra sought action against those who had made the one-minute video clip go viral. “I do not know who the person beating me up was,” she told journalists.

“If any malpractice has taken place, we will look into it,” the Governor said, when asked if the woman had been pressured into declining a meeting with him.