State women's panel ignores Nadia 'rape'

KOLKATA: The West Bengal Women''s Commission seems to be in no hurry to investigate the allegation of mass rape last week in Nadia of women passengers travelling in two buses.
It has sent no team to the site and, what is worse, is yet to publicly question the conduct of the police, who stand accused of destroying evidence. The passengers were returning after attending wedding receptions.
The commission is facing mounting criticism and stands accused of being soft on the LF government as the main accused are CPM leaders.By dragging its feet, the commission is seen as bailing out the state.
The 10-member commission, a statutory body set up by the state to probe atrocities on women, has not cared to ensure medical tests of the victims and collect evidence for speedy trial. Instead, it has summoned officials from Nadia to depose by next week.
“We may visit Nadia as part of our ongoing tours to districts. The officials will report to us about the real nature of the incident and steps they have taken to nab the culprits,'''' said Malini Bhattacharya, member of the panel and former MP.
Not surprisingly, most members are from the women''s wings of the LF parties. Some of the members, including chairperson Yasodhara Bagchi, Bharati Mutsudi and Miratun Nahar, had proposed to send a team though. “But we postponed the visit as we would not be able to speak to the victims. They have left for their homes and we are collecting their addresses.We are likely to visit Nadia next month,'''' said Nahar.
But other women''s organisation are critical of the role of the commission. “The victims as well as residents told us the police had destroyed evidence of gangrape to defuse tension. In that case, how do they help the commission to unearth the truth?� asked Kishwar Jahan, president of Paschim Banga Nari Sanghati Samiti, the women''s wing of Party for Democratic Socialism.
Questioning the official version that none of the women victims had formally complained, Jahan said, “It''s a shame that the local administration, politicians as well as women''s bodies are suppressing the crime.� She claimed some of the victims are ready to depose provided they are held ‘in camera''.
A former member of the state women''s commission and RSP leader, Geeta Sengupta, said the commission itself is empowered to hold an ‘in camera'' investigation. “It is shocking that the Dhantala incident should take place during the LF rule. It''s a shame that politicians have stooped to such levels. The commission and women''s bodies should encourage the victims and residents to speak the truth.''''
Activist and columnist Saswati Ghosh, too, is aghast that none of the Left Front women''s organisations or other bodies have visited the place so far.
“It hardly matters whether it was gang rape or molestation. If this kind of collective hypocrisy and selective amnesia continues, ostensibly, to defuse communal tension, I fear it will help bigots more,� she said.