A middle-aged woman in Ghoraghata village of Bengal’s East Midnapore district was tortured, beaten up, gang-raped and then hanged in her own house, allegedly by 12-15 Trinamool Congress (TMC) goons. The perpetrators were searching for the woman’s husband Byomkesh Giri, 50, a CPI-M cadre who was forced to leave the village after the 2011 Assembly polls when TMC came to power. Giri had fled the with his son to escape being targeted by the TMC.

Haldia national highway

Trinamool

Dibyendu Adhikari

Victim’s husband, in hiding since 2011, alleges accused demanded his return or Rs 12 lakhSpeaking to Mirror, Giri said, “The miscreants came to our house at least 10 times on Saturday and abused my wife. They gave her an ultimatum – either I return to the village immediately or she coughs up Rs 12 lakh instead. My wife called me several times to inform me about their visits.”He added, “I went to Contai police station to file a complaint, but the cops turned a deaf ear. I have been unable to return to my village since 2011 as I feared I’d be lynched to death. I have been hiding with my 10-year-old son.”Giri said the goons tortured his wife throughout the day, trying to force themselves on her. In the evening, he alleged, she was dragged out of the house, beaten mercilessly and then stripped.“They forced her to sit naked on the road. Traumatised, she sought help from my brother, Chandan. When Chandan tried to rescue her, he was beaten up and tied to a tree. Late at night, the goons returned and demanded Rs 12 lakh from her again. When she failed to give them the money, they dragged her inside the house and gang-raped her,” he added.Chandan, who was rescued in the morning by the villagers, found his sister-in-law hanging from the ceiling and informed the police. East Midnapore police said the victim had been gang-raped and then hanged by at least 12-15 men.Giri returned to Contai police station and filed a complaint, while Chandan, too, filed a complaint alleging that on Monday morning, the miscreants forced him to write on a blank sheet of paper that his sister-in-law had died a normal death.Sukesh Jain, SP, East Midnapore, said, “We have received two complaints filed by the victim’s husband and his brother. The body has been sent for post mortem. Action will be taken against the miscreants.”However, Ghoraghata villagers claimed the goons had been arrested and then released due to their allegiance to the TMC. To protest the gruesome incident, villagers blocked the. Former CPI-M minister Chakradhar Maika said, “Police inaction is responsible for such a crime. We are organising a protest rally.”“Yesterday (Sunday),goons entered her house and demanded Rs 12 lakh from her as a pre-condition for allowing her husband to return to the village. Later, they dragged her out, paraded her naked before raping and murdering her,” CPI-M leader Rabin Deb said.Deb said a party delegation has left for Contai where they will hold a protest march demanding the arrest of the culprits. Local Trinamool legislatorrubbished the allegations. “All the allegations are baseless. We have no connection with the crime,” he said. TMC block president Samaresh Das also claimed his party workers were not involved in the incident.