Surjya’s rape and terror salvo

Mishra with the son of a CPM worker who fled his Jayatala home. Picture by Goutam Chakraborty Baruipur, Sept. 7: Surjya Kanta Mishra today accused Trinamul workers of raping a woman, molesting several others and damaging the houses of around 200 CPM workers and supporters in South 24-Parganas’ Baruipur after the death of two brothers affiliated to the ruling party in a clash on Sunday. Mishra, who visited Baruipur today, said: “Trinamul activists have unleashed a reign of terror in Jayatala (where the brothers were shot dead allegedly by CPM cadres over possession of a plot). They have attacked and damaged nearly 200 houses of our workers. They raped a woman and molested several others. Let chief minister Mamata Banerjee come and see the face of terror in Baruipur. Many of our workers have fled their homes.” The leader of the Opposition in the Assembly said a copy of the police complaint lodged by the rape victim would be sent to the chief minister. “I doubt the police’s role in the aftermath of Sunday’s clash. They did not make any arrests even though six of our party workers, including a panchayat pradhan, have been killed since the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. But since Sunday, the police have arrested six of our workers without even verifying if they were involved in the clash,” Mishra said. “Since the Assembly elections, more than 40,000 CPM workers have been hounded out of their homes across Bengal. I wrote to the chief minister on several occasions but no steps were taken,” he added.