Rebel Trinamool hopeful after visit to site

Kolkata: Rebel Trinamool Congress MP Saayoni Ghosh and leader of the opposition from the same faction, Ritobrata Banerjee, were barracked and faced “go back” and “traitor” slogans from the crowd when they visited the rape-murder victim’s house at Baruipur on Tuesday.

Another rebel TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar stated that she had been “sent there by chief minister Suvendu Adhikari”. The CM also met the TMC rebels and reviewed the situation in the area.The CM said, “I had called the MP, MLA and the political parties here. They met me. The honourable MLA and former speaker Biman Banerjee met me. We had a one-to-one conversation, and I will not speak about that publicly. I feel that they too are satisfied.

Three BJP MLAs met me — Bikarna Naskar of Gosaba, Rupa Ganguly and Debashis Dhar. They too conveyed certain points to me. I briefed them on how much progress the govt and the police have made.

”Ahead of the CM’s visit, the rebel TMC members reached Baruipur to meet the victim’s kin. As Ritabrata Banerjee and his team got down from the car, they initially encountered hurdles posed by the police. After argument with the police, they were allowed to visit the minor victim’s house.

They were found making their way amidt the crowd protesting against their visit and throwing barbs like “dishonest” and “traitor”.

Despite the protests they met the victim’s kin and expressed condolences.Surrounded by the mob, Ritabrata was forced to leave the area with the help of security personnel and police. The MLA was seen hurriedly leaving the area under an umbrella and making his way to his car.This was the first “public appearance” of Jadavpur MP Saayoni Ghosh after her joining hands with NCPI.

She also needed police protection to move out of the spot amidst the mob. They also questioned where she had been in the past three days.Ghosh also said, “I believe that our CM will handle the matter properly and do the needful to ensure justice for the victim’s kin. I also believe that the govt will leave no stones unturned to assure safety and security of girls so that this incident does not recur. We demand capital punishment for those involved in this crime.”Referring to exemplary punishment for those responsible, she added, “Just because four people are in front of us doesn’t mean they are the only ones. There is a much bigger network behind this.”Coming out of the victim’s house, Barasat MP Ghosh Dastidar told reporters,“We have come here on the chief minister’s instructions. We must ensure the harshest possible punishment for the accused. Necessary steps must also be taken so that such a disgraceful incident never happens again.”