A war of words broke out between West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress and the principal opposition Bharatiya Janata Party over the death of a woman, whose car overturned while it was allegedly being chased by a group of men in another car in the Paschim Bardhaman district on Monday.
In a post on X, Union minister and BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar, who heads the saffron party’s West Bengal unit, accused chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool supremo, of making the state a “living hell” for its women.
“Every day, horrific crimes against women are reported, yet the government remains silent, shielding criminals instead of delivering justice! Mamata Banerjee came to power claiming to protect ‘Maa, Mati, Manush,’ but under her regime, women are raped, chased, murdered, and silenced. Where is her so-called ‘woman CM’ image now?,” Majumdar wrote on his X handle.
“Enough of @AITCofficial ’s Jungle Raj! Bengal demands safety, justice, and freedom from Fear! Where is ‘Maa-Mati-Manush’ when women are living in fear?” he added.
In response, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh released a social media video, in which, citing police version, he called the incident a “traffic problem” and denied the eve-teasing angle.
Also, without naming the BJP, Ghosh claimed “some people” are “portraying the woman’s death in a distorted manner.”
“This is a serious matter. Earlier it was said the lady was fleeing after some remarks from some people… and that is how it led to her death. Such people should be thrashed. Police probe found this was an overtaking case,” Ghosh stated in Bengali (translated by NDTV).
If the eve-teasing allegations are true, he said, “such people” (referring to culprits) should be “chained and paraded.”
“It had nothing to do with law-and-order. This theory was planted. Even the victim’s side didn’t make such an accusation. There can’t be police every inch for every citizen on highways. We need to be responsible citizens,” the TMC spokesperson wrote on the microblogging platform.
The incident
The deceased, a 27-year-old management professional, was killed in what a senior officer described as a “road accident.”
“We have spoken to the driver and the co-passenger of the victim’s car. Technical evidence from CCTV footage shows her car was actually chasing the other vehicle. It started when the victim’s car overtook the other vehicle, leading to an accident,” Asansol-Durgapur Commissioner of Police, Sunil Kumar Choudhary, told news agency PTI.
The IPS officer also criticised the media for running “incorrect news” and targeting the police force through a “motivated campaign.”
However, earlier in the day, another senior officer had told PTI that the victim’s four-wheeler had just refuelled at a petrol pump when a white vehicle with five occupants began following them and, as soon as they got onto the highway, “the men in the other car started making lewd remarks towards the woman and driving recklessly.”
Mother suspects probe
The victim’s disconsolate mother, too, questioned the police probe and accused authorities of “shielding” the culprits.
“My daughter is dead, and the people in the white vehicle are still free,” she said.
The deceased woman, a resident of Chinsurah in the Hooghly district, was on her way to attend a function in Bihar’s Gaya. Three of her colleagues were travelling with her.
Police have seized both vehicles and launched a probe.