Two women were brutally beaten, molested and iron rods were inserted in their private parts by a group of men over claims of the survivors being “lesbians” in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, police said on Tuesday.
The two girls were sleeping in a room on the night of October 25 in Authua village when a group of men barged into the house. Three men, including relatives of the victims, raised questions about why the girls were sharing the same bed. The trio then brutally hit them and burnt their pelvis area with hot rods for being “lesbians”. “They managed to flee and took shelter in a field when the three youths attempted to rape them,” the grandmother of one of the victims told The Telegraph. A case was lodged three days after the incident due to fear.
Search is on to arrest the accused
Sahebul Sheikh, one of the three accused, was produced before a Murshidabad court and was sent to police custody for seven days on Monday. Two other accused, identified as Kadam and Saheb, are currently at large. “We arrested one of the three accused and the search is on to arrest the rest,” said Bholanath Pandey, superintendent of Jangipur police district.
The villagers were aware of the homosexual relationship between the two women. One of the victims confirmed their relationship and said the accused attempted to rape them. “We are in a relationship, no one restrained us. Had we been warned, we would not have pursued. Three of them molested us, touched us uncomfortably, and tried to rape us,” the survivor was quoted as saying by India Today. She also accused the trio of making multiple incisions in the abdomen and thighs.
Police said that homosexual relationships are not accepted in rural areas and girls become easy prey to exploitation once they get branded as lesbians. “It may be that there the actual motive was to rape the two innocent girls. In rural areas it becomes easier to exploit them if they are branded lesbians,” a police officer told The Telegraph.