Arup Bhandari had died in hospiutal on Monday after being attacked by a group of drunk men, when he attempted to prevent the harassment of women.
Has Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tried to play down the death of braveheart Arup Bhandari? The 24-year-old was hit with wooden planks and an iron chair on his head hours after he asked a group of drunk men to stop harassing women passing by them in the street. Mr Bhandari died in hospital on Monday after spending five days in hospital in a coma.
Today, the Chief Minister visited Mr Bhandari's family in Howrah town, barely five km from Kolkata. She said the culprits would be arrested, and promised a job for Mr Bhandari's younger brother.
But while leaving the house, she told reporters that Mr Bandari had died in a fight between local gangs. When asked if she did not believe he died because he tried to protect women, the Chief Minister said, "An unfortunate incident has happened. About the women - we have to find the women who were teased."
Amar, Mr Bhandari's brother, said, "There were some girls on the road. The way they were taunted and harassed. My brother protested and this is the result.If unknown girls are harassed on the road, shouldn't we protest? There is no question of a local gang war."
Opposition parties have condemned Ms Banerjee's statement as an attempt to downplay the braveheart's act. BJP's Tathagata Roy said, "First she used to say 'minor matter, got up game'. This is an addition to that."
He was referring to Ms Banerjee claiming that a woman who was gang-raped in a car after leaving Kolkata's famous Park Street was a "
sajano ghatana" (fabricated incident) and the assault of a college principal a "
choto ghotona" (small matter).
The Howrah police say they received no complaint at the local police station of sexual harassment from any women on January 28, when the incident happened. However, locals stand by the version of the Bhandari family.
Abhijit Bose, a friend of Mr Bhandari's, was present during the assault and was also injured. In the past, he has confirmed that Mr Bhandari acted to protect the women, but today, he refused to respond to the Chief Minister's comment.