West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali district has been on the boil after several women victims have accused TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his aides of sexually assaulting them. Now, another disturbing event has unfolded in the Mothabari area in West Bengal’s Malda district. Today (Thursday, February 15) the half-naked body of a 25-year-old woman has been discovered in a maize field just a few hundred meters away from her house in the area.
The victim, identified as Kalpana Mondal, went missing on the evening of Saraswati Puja (14th February), leaving her family frantic with worry. Her family members suspect that she was raped and brutally murdered, as her body bore several stab wounds and showed signs of assault.
According to local sources, Kalpana left her home in the Sreepur Colony area of Mothabari on the morning of Saraswati Puja to bring vegetables. However, when she failed to return home, a search was initiated, leading to the grim discovery on Thursday morning. Her grieving family members recounted the events leading up to her disappearance.
Her mother said, “Saraswati Puja festivities were in full swing in our village yesterday. Amidst the joyous celebration and music, my daughter was enjoying herself too. She mentioned to one of my granddaughters in the evening that she was going to the bathroom, but she never returned. As the night wore on, my son searched for his sister to prepare dinner, but she was nowhere to be found. That’s when we began to worry and searched tirelessly throughout the night. Despite our efforts, her lifeless body was discovered this morning. My daughter had been married for a few years, but due to issues with her husband, she returned to live with us. She had no other affairs. I don’t know who killed her or why.”
Her brother said, “On the night of Saraswati Puja, I wanted to eat khichdi and curry. I went out in the evening and when I was looking for my sister, I heard that she was missing. We immediately started searching. I was searching this morning. Then I came to know that Didi’s body was lying in the cornfield. The body was almost naked. We suspect that she was murdered by rape or gang rape. The police took the body. We have lodged a written complaint with the Mothabari police station.”
BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya said in an X post, “West Bengal, under Mamata Banerjee, has become hell for women… Not a day goes when a woman is not raped and murdered. The brutality of the crime is often so spine-chilling that one can’t sleep for days. But nothing affects Mamata Banerjee, as long as she keeps getting votes. No criminal is ever prosecuted because they are almost always affiliated with the ruling TMC. Last night, another young woman was possibly raped and murdered in Mothabari, Malda. Her naked mutilated body was found in a cornfield in Sripur village. Bengal is witnessing anarchy, where the Chief Minister, and her criminal police force, have not only failed to provide any sense of security to women but are also actively working to deny justice to the victims. Mamata Banerjee is a curse for the women of West Bengal.”
West Bengal, under Mamata Banerjee, has become hell for women… Not a day goes when a woman is not raped and murdered. The brutality of the crime is often so spine chilling that one can’t sleep for days. But nothing affects Mamata Banerjee, as long as she keeps getting the… pic.twitter.com/bREGJop4Mb
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) February 15, 2024
BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla posted on his X handle, “After Sandeshkhali now Malda Mutilated half-naked body of a woman now found Talibani state of affairs thanks to TMC!”
After Sandeshkhali now Malda
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) February 15, 2024
Mutilated half naked body of a woman now found
Talibani state of affairs thanks to TMC! https://t.co/b6w5kJxa60 pic.twitter.com/Jv0VEvLayb
Notably, for the last week, women in several areas in Sandeshkhali of North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal have been protesting, demanding the arrest of TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan and others, narrating how the women in the area have been sexually exploited for a long time. The protests led to violence in the area, after which heavy police force have been deployed in the area.
Several women from Sandeshkhali have come forward to narrate how the women in the area are being raped by Sheikh Shahjahan, the mastermind behind the attack on the ED team, and other TMC workers and their aides. As per them, TMC workers regularly visit the area and pick out ‘beautiful women’ to exploit them. Some women said that they were taken to the party office in the night, and were released only after the men in the gang were ‘fully satisfied’.
On January 31, an 11-year-old girl was found beheaded in Malda town. According to a police official, her head and torso were discovered in separate locations in the city. Now, the half-naked body of a young woman is found in Mothabari near Malda in this incident. Repeated incidents of rape and atrocities on women have become a matter of concern in West Bengal.
