Pregnant woman hospitalises after being kicked on abdomen over dispute in Kolkata

|HT|

An eight-month pregnant woman was hospitalised over the weekend after a group of men allegedly kicked her in the abdomen, thrashed her family members, and ransacked their home over a real estate dispute in Kolkata.

Police arrested seven attackers on Sunday and were due to produce them in court on Monday even as ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) rubbished charges that a real estate agent involved in the attack is close to local party leaders and that the attackers were its workers.

Shibshankar Das, the woman’s father-in-law, said local TMC legislator Paresh Pal asked for a meeting with him over the dispute over a plot of land on Friday. When Das did not turn up, TMC-backed goons allegedly attacked Das’s house at least twice on Saturday.

“On Saturday, TMC workers barged into my house and beat up my son and pregnant daughter-in-law. On Sunday, when we went to lodge a complaint, the police arrested us instead. Later my house was again attacked.”

Dipak Das, the woman’s husband, said his 22-year-old wife was kicked and he also sustained injuries in his arm.

Pal insisted he did not even know the family. “Also I do not look after the civic ward where the alleged incident took place.’

Papiya Ghosh, the local ward councilor, said Shibshankar Das is making up a story. “His character is also questionable.’

Police said Shibshankar Das and his son were arrested in two old cases dating back to 2019 and 2021 and had pending warrants issued against them. They were later released on bail.

“We arrested seven people on Sunday as soon as we got a complaint from the family. Police even visited the hospital where the woman is admitted,” said a police officer.

Sajal Ghosh, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor, said it was like an attack on their mothers and sisters. “Every attack will be avenged... We will get justice. If the woman loses her child, the attackers would have to pay,” said

The BJP was likely to stage a protest outside the local police station on Monday.

(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)