“Mamata govt. patronising criminals”

The Opposition has accused the Mamata Banerjee government of “patronising criminals” after a woman in the South 24 Parganas district on Monday alleged that she was tied naked to a tree, beaten and branded over allegations of stealing

While the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) alleged the involvement of the Trinamool Congress activists, the Congress and the BJP slammed the State administration over the accused getting bail.

However, Trinamool’s Kultoli block president Gopal Majhi denied the allegations. “The entire episode has been staged by the CPI-M and their leader (Kanti Ganguly) is trying to frame and malign the Trinamool,” he said.

Actress-turned-politician Rupa Ganguly, who recently joined the BJP, slammed Ms. Banerjee for the rise in crimes against women in the State.

“When the Chief Minister herself described rape as a ‘petty matter’, then such crimes are bound to happen. It’s a shame that a State headed by a woman CM has been hitting the headlines for crime against woman,” said Ms. Ganguly, who gained popularity for playing Draupadi in the television series “Mahabharat”.

Former State Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya too attacked the administration for pressing lighter charges against the two accused.

“Not a single day passes when attacks on women are not taking place. Instead of taking strict action, the administration is actually encouraging criminals by either not taking any action or by pressing lighter charges,” said Bhattacharya.

The incident comes days after a woman in Birbhum district was tortured and nettle leaves rubbed into her private parts allegedly by a police team to extract information about her nephew -- a local BJP leader -- wanted for his alleged involvement in a political clash.

A National Commission for Women team, headed by chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam, on Saturday recorded the Birbhum woman’s statement and assured of taking action in the matter.