Several women of a family were allegedly molested, and the male members assaulted, when a group of men allegedly broke down their door, barged into their home, and ransacked the house after one of the family members protested against banned firecrackers being burst in Tollygunge on Friday night, police said.
This is the latest in a spate of assaults reported in the city since Diwali night, most linked to protests against crackers and DJ music during immersion processions. (See chart)
On Friday night, the group, comprising 12 to 15 men, allegedly broke open the main door, barged into the house, assaulted the family members, molested the women, and ransacked the property. The intruders reportedly fled only when Mala Roy, Trinamool MP for Kolkata South, arrived at the scene after receiving calls for help from the family.
A complaint has been lodged at Tollygunge police station. The police started an investigation and two men have been arrested.
“It was around 11.30pm on Friday. A group of men were bursting noisy crackers on the road. Our family — my mother, aunts, my maternal uncle, and his four-year-old child — was standing outside the house to watch an immersion procession. I asked them to wait and burst the crackers after we had gone inside,” the complainant told Metro.
According to him, this request led to an initial altercation, but the matter seemed to have settled. “After the procession passed and we were returning inside, the men came back. I told them we were leaving and that they could continue bursting crackers,” he said.
The group allegedly reached the house within minutes, breaking open the main door and a window before entering, the complainant said.
“The house is located close to the main thoroughfare. The men entered my room, ransacked it, and assaulted me. A few women of the family who tried to intervene were molested. Some of them destroyed a wooden rack in my room, opened the pipe from an LPG cylinder, and tried to set the house on fire. They shouted, ‘Tora boro berechish. Toder aagun diye puriye debo’ (You all have gone too far. We will burn you alive).”
The family initially contacted the police station and then reached out to the MP.
“Around 12.30-1am, I received a call from the family. I was nearby and reached immediately. This was about bursting firecrackers and related allegations and counter-allegations. I pacified the family members and instructed them to lodge a diary with the police. The house has been ransacked. I hope the police will investigate,” Roy said.
Soon after, a team from Tollygunge police station arrived and assured the family that those involved would be booked.
“CCTV footage of the thoroughfare and adjoining areas around the time of the alleged attack is being scanned. We have also spoken to some residents of the area,” a senior officer said.
Series of attacks
Around the same time on Friday night, a couple in Sonarpur, on the southern fringes of the city, were allegedly beaten, and the woman was molested after they protested against loud firecrackers.
“They were bursting chocolate bombs in front of our house, where my husband’s electric scooter was charging. One of the splinters landed on his feet and scalded him,” the woman said. “When he protested, the men pinned him to the ground and beat him up. When I tried to intervene, they molested and threatened me. I lodged a police complaint on Saturday and trust the police will act.”
Violence related to celebrations was reported in other areas as well.
On Wednesday, a 35-year-old man was stabbed to death, allegedly by his neighbours, after he switched off loud music during late-night Kali Puja celebrations in the Kusthia area of Sonarpur.
In Sodepur on the northern fringes of Calcutta, a man said he was hit on the forehead with a gun butt following a dispute with members of a procession heading to immerse a Kali idol in the Hooghly on Friday night. Three others were also reportedly injured in the attack.
“Some members of our club were standing on Raja Road watching the procession pass by. Some of them were bursting banned crackers, which we protested, leading to an altercation,” said Avik Singha.
“While returning after immersion, Bubai Mullick attacked me and hit me with the butt of a dun. Others also attacked three members of our club on Raja Road,” Singha alleged, identifying Mullick as a local Trinamool leader.
Mullick’s wife denied the charges, claiming that Singha and others had allegedly heckled her and other women during the procession.
The police have registered a case of alleged assault based on Singha’s complaint against Mullick and others.
The ordeals began on Diwali night.
On Monday night, a 55-year-old woman and a 65-year-old man on Ashutosh Mukherjee Road were allegedly beaten by neighbours after protesting against loud firecrackers and smoke entering their homes.
Past midnight on Wednesday, in Parnasree, a couple and their son were allegedly heckled and assaulted after objecting to a loud immersion procession that played DJ music.
In Nagerbazar, a 45-year-old man who participated in a Kali Puja immersion procession was allegedly doused with petrol and set on fire following a dispute with neighbours early Thursday morning.