Residents of Kolkata’s Sarsuna area in Behala were in for a rude shock on Sunday when an 18-year-old youth, his father, and his 19-year-old friend were stripped naked and paraded for 50 metres. Some residents filmed them, while others were too scared to intervene as they were threatened with firearms. The accused who have been arrested include a minor girl’s father, her maternal uncle, and the maternal uncle’s friend.
Who was this girl? What prompted the incident? On Sunday, the 13-year-old girl’s maternal uncle’s friend saw the 18-year-old kissing her and informed her maternal uncle, who, along with her father, caught the boy and the 19-year-old friend who accompanied him, dragged them to the house, and assaulted them. The boy was made to call his father, who, when he arrived, was reportedly given three choices while the assault on the boys continued. The three choices were: shoot his son, plunge a knife into his stomach, or parade naked. The girl’s mother said she would heat the knife before the stabbing. The sobbing father chose to parade naked in public. While no residents spoke up, it was a motorcycle mechanic, Sujoy, who saved the three from further disgrace.
The incident has left the boy, his father, and his friend in shock, and they are scared to step out of their homes after the humiliation. They fear backlash from other family members and friends of the girl.
The video was circulated on social media, prompting angry residents to gather outside the girl’s house on Sunday night and Monday, threatening to vandalise their property. Sarsuna police arrived at the spot, where residents who had assaulted the girl’s maternal uncle handed him over to the police. The girl’s parents, meanwhile, escaped before the police arrived. They were later arrested. The Detective Department of the Kolkata Police took over the case, and the Special Juvenile Police Unit (SJPU) is carrying out the investigation. CCTV footage of the area and statements from 15 witnesses were taken.
On Tuesday, police paraded the girl’s father, her uncle, and his friend in the same area to recreate the scene. They were paraded bare-chested and barefoot in shorts with a rope tied around their waists. A human chain was formed by a large contingent of police and paramilitary forces to prevent angry residents from attacking them. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of the police action and issued a notice to Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand, asking for a response within two weeks.
A few months ago, the Calcutta High Court observed that police parading the accused in a similar manner amounts to a violation of human rights. In June, former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and ex-MLA Saokat Molla was paraded through Jibantala market in connection with a gang-rape case. He later moved the Calcutta High Court. The same month, former TMC leader Jahangir Khan was also publicly paraded in shorts by police in Falta.
Reality is stranger than fiction. The minor girl’s family is said to have opposed her relationship with the 18-year-old boy from the beginning. However, the dangerous punishment meted out shows the extent to which even the common man can go, including using firearms. What were firearms doing in the house in the first place? There are several layers to the police probe, and now, with the NHRC notice, questions arise over the ambit of human rights. Amidst it all, what will it take to discard the psychological fear of shame, which continues to haunt the victims even if the law gives them justice?
