Woman in Chopra Flogging Incident Declines Meeting with West Bengal Governor

West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose had to cut short his visit to north Bengal on Tuesday after the woman, who was seen being publicly beaten in a viral video, reportedly declined to meet him.

“The victim wants to be left alone, and I will respect her right,” Mr. Bose told reporters at a guest house in Siliguri, north Bengal, before heading back to Delhi.

The Governor had flown from Bagdogra in north Bengal on a morning flight, and extensive arrangements were made, including police deployment at the village in Chopra, Uttar Dinajpur, where the video of a man brutally beating a man and a woman had gone viral a few days earlier.

Following the video’s widespread shock, Islampur police arrested Tajimul Islam, the man allegedly seen beating the couple, and he has been remanded to five days in police custody.

Instead of seeking action against the attackers, the woman from Chopra asked for action against those who made the one-minute video clip viral. “I do not know who the person beating me up was,” she told journalists.

When asked if the woman had been pressured into declining a meeting with him, the Governor said, “If any malpractice has taken place, we will look into it.”

The woman, however, clarified that she had not stopped the Governor from visiting her house.

Meanwhile, the Governor met another survivor of a violent mob assault on a woman in Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar district. “I have no faith in Mamata Banerjee’s police. I was stripped and beaten up by supporters of the Trinamool Congress. The Governor assured me that he will stand by me,” said the woman, who expressed her support for the BJP.

Mr. Bose continued his criticism of the West Bengal government, stating, “Violence has become a norm rather than an exception in north Bengal. The responsibility for this lies with the Chief Minister and the [State] Home Minister.”

He accused the government led by Ms. Banerjee of encouraging violence. “This is a government-supported and government-initiated violence,” he said, adding that incidents of violence had increased since the panchayat polls were held in the State. The Governor also accused some police officers of colluding with criminals.

In another incident in Fulbari, Jalpaiguri district, a woman died by suicide after being tried for alleged adultery at a kangaroo court called by local villagers.

Similar to the incident in Chopra, the woman in Fulbari was publicly assaulted by locals. While the local TMC MLA Hamidur Rahaman had questioned the character of the woman in Chopra, in Fulbari, it was the husband of local panchayat leader Shambu Roy who cast aspersions. Four people have been arrested in connection with the incident.