Five days back, NCW had taken Suo Motu cognizance of the crime against women during the post-poll violence in West Bengal even though the police tried to white wash the reports.
From Gang-rape to assaults and many allegations were being made on the West Bengal government whose elected party was allegedly sponsoring the violence but there were lack of evidence for all of these reports hence, the NCW team was sent on Ground zero.
The ground zero reports of National Commission for Women were no different.
“An NCW team visiting West Bengal to take stock of the post-poll violence has found that many women are receiving rape threats and want their daughters to leave the state as police are not taking effective steps for their protection,” chairman of the women’s rights body Rekha Sharma said.
As per reports, Rekha Sharma said that the rape threats to women and their willingness to leave the State altogether came at the backdrop of the police inaction and their failure in ensuring the protection of women. In a statement, she added that the women are fearful of a possible backlash if they file a complaint with the police.
While speaking about the matter, NCW said, “The team received information about many stranded victims, who left their homes because of violence, are currently forced to stay in a shelter home. The team was informed by the victims that they were physically assaulted and their homes were vandalised and set ablaze by TMC goons.”
“The complainants told the team that they have been receiving rape and threat calls every day. The women also said that they are not being provided any protection by the police or state authorities. The women said that they have left the elderly in their homes and are worried about their safety,” it said.
The NCW alleged that it was supposed to meet many more victims of the post-poll violence but the state government officials refused to facilitate the meetings citing restrictions on movement in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
