‘2,454 rape cases, 600 murders in 5 months under BJP’: TMC demands special session of Bengal Assembly

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday (October 7) demanded a special session of the West Bengal Assembly to discuss what it described as the deterioration of the law and order situation in the state, citing figures from the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB).

The SCRB, in response to an RTI query filed by TMC leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale, revealed that 2,454 rape cases, 600 murders, 13,114 attempts to murder and 32,341 cases of assault causing grievous hurt were recorded in the state between May and September 24, the party claimed.

The figures assume significance for the BJP government, which took office in May after making law and order a central electoral promise and accusing the TMC government of presiding over “jungle raj”.

TMC attacks BJP’s ‘double-engine disaster in Bengal’

Party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee posted the SCRB data on X (Formerly Twitter) and described it as “a snapshot of the BJP’s ‘double-engine’ disaster in West Bengal”.

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Banerjee said the figures translated into 16 rape cases a day, four murders a day, 87 attempts to murder a day and 216 cases of assault causing grievous hurt.

“They promised a ‘double engine’. But Bengal got a ‘double-engine’ disaster,” he wrote.

Reacting to the figures, TMC MLA and spokesperson Kunal Ghosh demanded an immediate discussion of the SCRB data in a special session of the Assembly.

He also sought statements from Governor R N Ravi and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on the law and order situation. “2,454 rapes in five months. In such a law and order situation, where is the security of mothers and sisters?” Ghosh asked.

Month-wise SCRB figures

He questioned what the BJP would have said if similar figures had emerged during the TMC government’s tenure.

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Ghosh also took a swipe at the BJP over its past protests against crimes against women, saying there would not even be a candlelight march over the latest rape figures. He alleged that Bengal was witnessing “police raj, goonda raj, threats and a politics of intimidation” and demanded that the Assembly take up the SCRB report without delay.

The demand came a day after The Federal reported on a series of incidents that had raised questions over the BJP government’s law and order record five months after it took office.

The month-wise SCRB figures cited by the TMC showed 125 murder cases in May, 134 in June, 133 in July, 111 in August and 97 up to September 24. Attempt-to-murder cases stood at 2,947 in May, 2,562 in June, 3,096 in July, 2,498 in August and 2,011 up to September 24.

Allegation against police

The largest number was recorded under assault causing grievous hurt. The data showed 7,794 such cases in May and 6,191 in June, with the figure for the five-month period reaching 32,341.

The TMC did not provide a month-wise break-up of the rape cases in its statement, but used the total figure of 2,454 to question the BJP government’s record on crimes against women.

The TMC further questioned whether the SCRB figures represented the full extent of serious crime.

TMC leader and advocate Arka Nag alleged that police sometimes hesitated to register complaints under stringent sections of law.

He claimed the numbers could have been higher if all complaints had been registered under serious sections.