The Kolkata unit of the Left Women Coordination Committee took out a protest rally here on Monday against the rape of an employee of the Eastern Railway by three of her colleagues.
The march started off north Kolkata’s B.B. Ganguly Street in Bowbazar and ended at police headquarters at Lalbazar in central Kolkata. They submitted a memorandum addressed to the Commissioner of Police condemning the incident and the alleged apathy of police.
In the memorandum, committee members said the accused had been raping her repeatedly, not sparing her even when she was pregnant. The accused threatened to leak her indecent videos on the internet if she dared to report the matter to the police.
“The police, instead of helping her, have only tried to evade its responsibilities. They questioned her character and advised her husband to divorce her when she and her husband approached the police,” the letter stated.
Three of the survivor’s colleagues and accused in the case were arrested on Saturday.
Alleging that the State government was doing precious little to ensure safety of women in the State, the memorandum stated that the police have been indifferent to the victims’ plight and have failed to take strong action against the perpetrators.
State Left Front committee chairman Biman Basu told media persons here on Monday that new dimensions on the State government’s stand towards women’s security are coming to light.
“Although the rape case falls under the purview of the GRP, is the State not associated with the GRP? The environment in the State is becoming harmful to the women,” Mr. Basu said.
State Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja visited the survivor at the hospital during the day and said the woman was undergoing medical tests, following which the test samples would be sent to a forensic laboratory.
