Agartala, Nov 1 (FN Bureau) The opposition CPM in Tripura has threatened to launch a statewide agitation protesting against the police inaction over the alleged torture of a minor, a student of Class IX, by two Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders in Kalacherra of Sabroom in South Tripura, which caused the death of the girl early this month.The CPM state committee member and former MLA Ratan Das alleged that they had demonstrated in front of police headquarters here demanding an impartial inquiry into the incident and booked the accused under appropriate sections of the IPC, POCSO Act, and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act but didn’t get any specific assurance of punishment.He alleged the girl, a resident of the Abhoynagar area of the city who belonged to the Dalit family, was molested and assaulted physically and mentally after being lifted from her house on October 6 by a group of VHP activists led by one Arun Haldar on the pretext of religious purification, as she had eloped with a Muslim boy last month despite resistance from her parents.
The girl was taken to the house of another VHP leader, Biplab Sen, in Sabroom, where she was subjected to torture by a group of people. She was shifted to a local hospital with serious injuries on October 8. Later, she was taken to Agartala Govt Medical College in critical condition and then to Kolkata, where she died after a week, Das said.He also stated that the parents lodged a complaint with the Agartala Women Police Station a fortnight ago, but the police have yet to take any action. Instead, the local BJP leaders and some saffron cadres have been persuading her parents to withdraw the complaint and accept a few lakh rupees as compensation, where police are also playing a mischievous role.
Meanwhile, officers of Women’s police station denied the charges of CPM and said police have already launched an investigation based on the complaints but have yet to find any evidence of the claims. They said, “So far, we got to know the girl was forced by her parents to attend the religious purification sessions, and she attempted to commit suicide on October 8 but survived. However, if anybody is found guilty of indulging her to commit suicide, any sort of abuse law will take its own course.”However, VHP Tripura Chief Bijoy Saha nullified the allegation of involvement of any of their activists and disowned both the accused while condemning the incident. He said, “We don’t have any activists in the name referred to in the complaint, and VHP never does any criminal activity or supports anything of its kind.”