Picture for representational purpose only.

KOLKATA: Two days after a 25-year-old woman complained of rape after a birthday party at her friend’s house near Ranikuthi in south Kolkata, the landlady of the Beliaghata house where she lived as a paying guest threw her out on Thursday. Her situation mirrors the experience of Park Street rape survivor Suzette Jordan who had also been evicted from the house and had lost her job after the sexual assault.

The landlady of the Beliaghata house asked the woman to leave on Wednesday evening, telling her she was not fit to stay in a respectable neighbourhood after the rape complaint and the subsequent police visit to inquire into the incident.

“I tried to reason with her, arguing that I couldn’t have kept quiet after somebody touched me and abused me without consent. But she refused to listen. After police came to the PG accommodation to enquire into what had happened, she insisted that I could not stay in the neighbourhood,” she recounted.

“I have been living in the house for five months and have never had any issue with either the landlady or other paying guests. What was apalling is that none of the other women who stay as PG stood by me,” she said. Turned out without notice, the woman took refuge at a friend’s place and plans to take an apartment on rent if and when she finds one.

When TOI called the landlady, she confirmed they have asked the woman to leave but did not cite the reason. Instead, she passed on the phone to her husband who accused the woman of breaking the 9.30pm curfew hour. “Students who stay at this paying guest accommodation are required to return by 9.30pm. She did not return on Monday and stayed the night somewhere when the alleged incident happened. We need to be strict since we have the responsibility of these young girls,” the landlord said.

When we questioned her why cops had come here, she was evasive and even threatened to drag us into the complaint. We asked her to leave because we don’t want other occupants to get into trouble,” said the landlord. The rape survivor denied issuing such a threat.

Anuradha Kapoor, founder of Swayam that extends support to women who have been sexually or physically abused, said it was society’s patriarchial attitude that led to such behavior.

“It is infuriating that a woman who is sexually assaulted is to carry the stigma and also be blamed for what’s happened. People’s understanding is, if this has happened to you, you must have been responsible and brought it on to you. You must be bad. This is what happened to Suzette as well. I don’t know when we as a society will realise that women have a right to go where they wish and that men don’t have the right to rape,” said Kapoor.

Suzette was at a Park Street nightclub when a group of men offered to drop her home and then raped her in a car before throwing her out near Exide.

The BPO executive who is pursuing her graduation from a distance learning university had been to the birthday party with common friends at Gandhi Colony near Ranikuthi on Monday night. On Tuesday morning, she filed a complaint against a man who was also present in the house of having sexually assaulted her in the washroom that morning while the two other friends were asleep.

The woman said she left the place in fear and disgust and went to her parents’ home. She then came back to the PG after regaining compusure and then mustered up courage to lodge the complaint. The accused was arrested late on Tuesday.

