Santipur/Kolkata: Felani Basak, the mother of a deaf-and-mute rape survivor whom Mamata Banerjee had taken to Writers’ Buildings in 1993 to demand justice, passed away at her Fulia home on Monday. She was 91.The then Left Front govt ordered police to drag Banerjee — then a Union minister in the PV Narasimha Rao govt — out of the state govt headquarters. That incident, widely reported and famously photographed showing Banerjee being dragged by her hair, was a pivotal moment in her evolution as a fiery opposition leader who went on to become the chief minister of Bengal 18 years later.Felani’s daughter Dipali had allegedly been raped by a neighbor, who was a CPM worker, in 1992. She died of a snakebite in 2009.Santipur MLA Braja Kishor Goswami said: “I personally met Felani every year on the Ashtami of Durga Puja. Throughout the year, our party workers kept track of her health. In the last several months, her condition worsened but she could still recognise me.”Goswami, who visited Felani’s home after learning of her death, added: “We assured the family that her last rites are our responsibility.”Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, the minister for parliamentary affairs and agriculture, recalled that he accompanied Banerjee to Writers’ Buildings along with Felani and Dipali. “Mamata Banerjee was then the Union minister of state for HRD, youth affairs and sports, and women and child development in the Narasimha Rao govt. We reached Writers’ Buildings around 2.30pm and wanted to meet Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. After he refused to see us, we sat down in front of his chamber. We pleaded through Bhattacharjee’s secretary, explaining that this was a case of rape involving a deaf-and-mute girl and we sought justice for her. But Bhattacharjee, along with then-CM Jyoti Basu, appeared adamant about not meeting us,” he recalled.Chattopadhyay said that the police was soon summoned. “We were physically lifted by the policemen; they even pulled her by the hair. As Banerjee tried to resist, her sari was torn while the police dragged her down the stairs. We were taken to Lal Bazar and placed in the central lock-up. Around midnight, we were forced out of Lal Bazar. As our followers gathered at the gate, the police lathi-charged, and both Banerjee and I were badly injured. Banerjee then marched towards Gandhi statue on Mayo Road to stage a sit-in demonstration,” he added.Chattopadhyay said the CM wrote about this in her book. That day, Banerjee vowed that she would only enter the state secretariat again as chief minister, a promise she fulfilled 18 years later.
