The Madhyamgram rape-and-murder case seems to have brought Governments of Bengal and Bihar to blows with the former crying foul over the latter’s “unnecessary interference defying federal norms in another State’s affairs” by granting compensation to the victim’s family and directing its police officials to submit a report on the crime.
Bengal Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim on Friday expressed “grave displeasure” over “the way the Bihar Government has tried to interfere into the affairs of our State.” Reminding the “established norms” followed by Governments “in a federal structure like ours” Hakim, known for his proximity to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said “interfering in other State’s law and order affairs defies the federal structure of our country and merits condemnation.”
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had earlier announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the next of the kin of the victim besides directing his police department to conduct a parallel probe into incident. He had directed IGP GS Gangwar to submit a report on the issue after meeting his Bengal counterparts in Kolkata. “We condemn this step taken by the Bihar Government” said Hakim known to speak a word without his Chief Minister’s consent wondering how the Bihar Government would have felt if Bengal had taken the same step “crossing our jurisdiction.”
“This is a rape-and-murder case perpetrated by filthiest of creatures that deserve strictest punishment and our Government and the police have taken sufficient measures. But the question is whether any other Government can intervene into our own affairs” the visibly peeved Minister said adding the step amounted to “playing politics before the elections.” “Had a similar unfortunate incident taken place in Bihar with a resident of Bengal then would we have taken the same stepIJ Certainly not!” he insisted.
In a gruesome incident of multiple gang-rapes and murder a teenager was set on fire after repeatedly being raped by her tormentors at Madhyamgram a north Kolkata suburb even as the police stood mute spectator despite repeated FIRs being lodged by the aggrieved family. The girl who had come from Samastipur in Bihar with her father a taxi driver in Kolkata was a school student. The girl who was quoted as 16-years-old was actually just 13 if the testimonials of the school where she studied in Bihar are to be believed.