Kolkata: An 18-year-old boy, his father and his friend were allegedly assaulted, threatened at gunpoint and paraded naked for more than 50 metres through a busy road in Behala’s Sarsuna by the family of the teenager’s minor girlfriend after the two were seen together on Sunday afternoon.Eyewitnesses said the incident, resembling kangaroo court justice and unprecedented in Kolkata, unfolded after the teenager was allegedly seen kissing the 13-year-old girl near Khalpar Math in Sarsuna’s Khudiram Pally, a neighbourhood in south-west Kolkata.Residents, enraged by the shocking treatment meted out to the three, vandalised the girl’s house and accused police of delaying the arrest of those involved. Police denied the allegation. The girl’s parents and maternal uncle were arrested on Monday.Soon after an acquaintance of the girl’s family spotted her with the teenager, the boy and his 19-year-old friend, who was standing nearby, were allegedly dragged to her home, locked in a room and assaulted by her father and maternal uncle.The girl’s family then summoned the boy’s father to their house. “They severely assaulted me in front of other people before asking me to kill my son,” the father said. “They gave me a choice: ‘If you can’t use a gun, stab him with a knife’. The girl’s mother said she would heat the knife in the fire before I thrust it into my son’s stomach. I had no choice but to agree to walk naked through the road.”Residents of the locality said the girl’s family members were holding guns and threatened to kill anyone trying to rescue the three. “The teenager’s father was given three choices: shoot his son, stab him or make him walk naked. They were holding guns. When we protested, they threatened to shoot us,” said Arnab Saha, a resident of the neighbourhood.“My wife and sister-in-law saw the incident while going to a neighbour’s house for Lakshmi Puja. They are still traumatised,” he said.Additional commissioner of police (crime) Kunal Aggarwal said, “The 18-year-old victim had gone to meet the 13-year-old girl along with his 19-year-old friend near Khalpar Math in Sarsuna. While talking, the boy allegedly kissed her, which was witnessed by an associate of the girl’s maternal uncle. He informed the girl’s uncle and father, who brought both boys to their house in Khudiram Pally. There, they assaulted the two boys and asked the youth to call his father. In the meantime, the uncle called three to four of his friends to the residence. When the youth’s father arrived, they assaulted him as well and threatened to shoot them if they did not parade naked. They then forced the three of them to parade naked for about 50 metres in the lane outside.”Based on a complaint filed by the teenager’s father, Sarsuna police station registered a case of attempted murder, gang assault, severe bodily harm, illegal confinement, extortion, criminal intimidation, abduction and organised crime, and also under the arms act.“The main accused — the girl’s parents and maternal uncle — have been arrested. Raids are on to apprehend the remaining accused. Medical examinations of the young victims are over. They alleged they were threatened at gunpoint to undress, but no weapons have been recovered so far,” Aggarwal said.Locals alleged the accused enjoyed political support. “The key figures were Trinamool strongmen with close ties to a former councillor,” Saha said.A local Trinamool functionary who refused to be named said no party worker or supporter was involved in the “dastardly” act.A neighbour alleged, “Police did not conduct a proper search. At first, they claimed there were no men in the girl’s house. A group then went in and found the girl’s father. Now, it is being claimed that we vandalised the house.”The incident drew condemnation from civil society activists. Social activist Saswati Ghosh said, “Those responsible for this are mentally unstable. And as for those who watched it — did they simply enjoy the spectacle or did they protest?”Social commentator Sayoni Chowdhury Patra said, “Mob vigilantism is repeatedly playing out in the city. But it was never witnessed in this form before. We need to examine why this has become a widespread malaise affecting even urban areas.”
