Let’s hit the nail on the head here. There are incidents of rape and sexual violence against women reported from across the country with unfailing regularity but nothing shook mass conscience the way Nirbhaya’s rape and murder did. The brutality of the crime and the protests thereafter compelled a change in law. Hence, we must understand why Abhaya’s murder and rape at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata is hair-raising and shameful not just for the horrifying manner in which it was done but also because it evokes the truth of a long history of political rapes that occured before it in the State. In West Bengal, ever since the CPI(M)-led Left Front came to power, rapes have been used by the leading political dispensation to send a harsh message to their opponents. In a way, the crime at RG Kar is no exception. And this time it is the TMC that is politically at the forefront in the State.
The brutal murder and rape of a 31-year-old female trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital has sent shockwaves across the nation, igniting widespread protests and bringing to light serious concerns about safety of women in West Bengal that is ruled by a woman Chief Minister. The operative word here is ruled, considering how CM Mamata Banerjee has been dictatorially trying to stifle the voice of protestors continuously. In that, she is no different from what the CPI(M) used to do in their hey days in West Bengal.
Records prove that the practice of using political rapes as a weapon became so normalised that even after the Left Front Government was ousted from power, rape threats continued—and still continue—to be made with alarming ease. In 2012, Tapas Pal, a renowned Bengali actor, Trinamool Congress leader and Member of Parliament from Krishnanagar, was caught on camera threatening the rape of women affiliated with the CPI(M).
When Tapas Pal threatened his political rivals with the rape of their women, the TMC MP was only resorting to deeply ingrained political culture in West Bengal, where rape and the threat of rape are used as tools of vendetta. This practice, largely a legacy of the Left’s time in power, is now perpetuated by supporters of the
ruling TMC.
In many cases, rape has been used as a weapon to punish women for their political affiliations or their family’s involvement in opposition politics by the TMC goons.
In 2010 in Nanoor, multiple women were reportedly raped by TMC cadres as part of post-poll violence aimed at punishing those who supported the opposition.
In the year 2012, a woman in Birbhum was gang-raped by TMC supporters as punishment for her husband’s involvement with the opposition CPI(M). The incident highlighted the use of sexual violence as a tool of political control and revenge. Many of us are not aware of these past incidents because probably Banerjee knows exactly how to man the mainstream media in her State so that the screams of the victims are muffled. Shifting blames and cover ups is an art perfected by the TMC party bosses, led by the Chief Minister, who has been resorting to outlandish excuses, shifty narratives and incredible justifications while speaking on the crimes committed in her State. The best retort from Banerjee being that these sexual crimes against women were orchestrated by her political opponents to malign her image.
No wonder she went on a cover up spree in 2021, following the West Bengal Assembly election results, when there were widespread reports of violence in the state. These incidents included rapes of women whose husbands and other family members were cadres of non-TMC parties, mainly BJP.
Keeping these disturbing incidents in mind, it must be remembered that May 2, 2021, stands as a dark day in Bengal’s political history. The moment it became clear that the TMC would secure a majority in Assembly election results, massive violence erupted. TMC goons began assaulting and raping Hindu women and BJP supporters, targeting them simply for voting for the BJP. Dozens of women were allegedly raped.
I vividly remember the harrowing case of a woman gang-raped by TMC goons in front of her granddaughter. Her condition was so severe that she couldn’t even keep food down and vomiting just when she tried to eat. While covering 2021 post-poll violence, I met many women who were raped by TMC workers for supporting BJP in the elections.
In both the Left Front and TMC eras, rape has been used as a political weapon, particularly in rural areas where political control is fiercely contested. Both regimes have been accused of shielding perpetrators due to political affiliations, with accusations of police complicity and cover-ups. This has created a culture of impunity, where sexual violence is seen as an acceptable tool of political dominance.
No one can forget the horrific Nirbhaya gang rape case of December 16, 2012, when 23-year-old Jyoti Singh was gang-raped by a bus driver and five accomplices in a moving bus in Delhi. The incident shocked the world. Jyoti, later named “Nirbhaya” (fearless) by the media, was thrown naked from the bus after the rape and succumbed to her injuries within two weeks.
The nation’s initial shock quickly turned to anger, with hundreds of young women and men taking to the streets in Delhi, demanding justice. They faced water cannons and tear gas as police tried to disperse the outraged crowds.
In both the Left Front and TMC eras, rape has been used as a political weapon, particularly in rural areas where political control is fiercely contested
However, before this devastating incident, similar cases had occurred in West Bengal. One such case took place on the night of February 5-6, 2012, in Kolkata’s Park Street area. Suzette Jordan, who had met five men at a nightclub, accepted their offer for a lift. Instead, she was raped inside a moving Honda City. After the assault, she was dumped near Exide Crossing in Kolkata. Later Mamata Banerjee had made the statement and called the incident shajano ghatana (fabricated incident) meant to embarrass the Government.
She had further said, “Rape cases are on the rise because boys and girls interact more freely now. Earlier, if men and women held hands, they would be caught and reprimanded by parents, but now everything is so open. It’s like an open market with open options.” Not only did Mamata Banerjee make an insensitive statement about the incident, but later, IPS officer Damayanti Sen, who had solved the case as the Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) in Kolkata, was removed from her position. She was transferred to Barrackpore Police Training College as DIG (Training). People remarked that “her fault was arresting the five culprits in the gang rape case, which didn’t sit well with Didi.”
In another case, in 1990, Anita Dewan, an officer of the UNICEF, detected a huge fraud involving UNICEF funds in some CPI (M)-controlled panchayats in South 24-Parganas. When she was returning with some seized incriminating documents, her vehicle was waylaid at Bantala and set on fire. The driver was killed. And Dewan was raped and murdered. Her naked body was thrown into a paddy field.
During the examination of the dead body of Anita Dewan, a metal torch was found in her vagina. The surgeon examining the dead woman fainted when she discovered a metal torch in her vagina. Jyoti Basu, the then Chief Minister said that things are normal and happen. Prasanta Sur, the then Health Minister of West Bengal, defended the CPI(M) goons and commented that the victims might have been mistaken as child abductors.
The tendency to use rape as a political weapon has been normalised, sometimes through ideological justification or outright denial of any such happenings. This provides courage and confidence to the perpetrator of RG Kar hospital rape and murder case. The way perpetrators tortured Abhaya was also heinous. They deserve the harshest punishment that would bring a closure to the victim’s parents for their irreparable loss. Most importantly, the degree of punishment should stand as a lesson to all those depraved humans who cast evil eye on women. But, after the alleged cover up of the crime by the Mamata Banerjee government and the continuous shifting of goal posts, will this case also become just another ‘shajano ghatana’ in the State of West Bengal?
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