Mahanga women harassed since 2009; still to get justice
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| Victim Anjali Pradhan |
Like the
case of the Tikiri lady teacher, the woman had also approached several police
officials of her district to help her out but gone unheeded. She made rounds of
the temples of justice, but all her efforts went in vain. The hooligans of the
woman’s village have been threatening her of life if she returns home again.
According to
reports, the victim, Anjali Pradhan is a single woman of Govindpur under the
Mahanga police limits in Cuttack district. She alleged that a group of people
of her village have been harassing her ever since she lodged a case against her
neighbour Sarat Pradhan and his family members at the local civil court on a
land dispute case in 2009.
Court had
given its order in favour of Anjali and had directed the defendants to appear
before the court. After getting order, Sarat and his brothers decided to take
her on and scolded her in abusive language. They had even attacked her with
sharp weapon, said Anjali to Jagdev-the conqueror during her visit to the city.
Anjali tolerated all their tyrannies and
insults, but it crossed the limit when Sarat, Hemalata, Biswajit and Bairanjan,
of the family, broke into her house on June 7 last year and assaulted her. As
Anjali was staying alone, she could not defend them. They threw her out of the
house with her household articles. They had also threatened her not to enter
the house again.
Anjali
immediately informed Bhadreswar outpost in-charge and then Mahanga IIC and
Salepur SDPO to look into the matter, but they didn’t take any step. Later she
gave a letter to the Cuttack rural SP about the police inaction.
She alleged
that the police not only insulted her but also assaulted when she informed them
about the matter. Protesting the inaction, she staged a day-night dharna in
front of the Mahanga Tehsil on December 10 last year.
Now, she is
homeless and is staying at Bhagabati temple in the outskirts of her village.
But her plight not ends here. The Pradhan family again attacked her in a
planned way when she was alone near the temple late on November 17 this year.
When Anjali
was going to sleep inside the Bhagabati temple premises, a group of people led
by Sarat entered into the temple compound and searched her. After hearing
abusive languages from the group, Anjali fled from the spot.
“When I
heard some of them were asking about petrol to burn me, I ran away from the spot
to save my life. After a few minutes, they set my clothes and other belongings
ablaze. I got shocked after seeing the fire and immediately went to the nearest
Bhadreswar police outpost to lodge an FIR, but the police didn’t accept her
FIR. She went to Mahanga IIC and Salepur SDPO for security, but she was
detained by the police instead of protection,” she added.
Anjali said
that if any untoward incident happens in her case like the Itishree Pradhan’s,
all the police officials from the outpost to the IG level will be responsible
for it and demanded the State Government’s intervention to help her out to live
a normal life out of fear and harrassment.
Meanwhile, on contacted, the Cuttack (rural)
SP Gurudas Kundu said Anjali’s case is a prolonged case originated from a land
dispute. She has lodged several cases against her rivals alleging harassment
and assault. But she wants action as per her wish and brings several
allegations against the police officials without knowing the ground reality of
the investigation process.
Anjali and
her rivals are two groups, have been indulged in the fight since last 15 to 20
years. They don’t come to a common point of understanding, Kundu added.
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