Barasat rapists to be hanged in a month, says Mamata

HT, Kolkata, June 20, 2013: West Bengal Chief Minister said on Wednesday her government was determined to "hang" within a month the perpetrators of the gang-rape and murder of a teenaged girl in North 24-Parganas.

"Our government is determined to punish the criminals. Our target is to hang the rapists within a month. We have done it before and we can do it now," Banerjee told a party rally in the district.

Banerjee on Monday visited Kamduni village in the district to meet the family of the second-year college student who was abducted, raped and killed by a group of youths June 7 when she was returning home after appearing in an examination in Barasat in the district.

During her Monday visit to the family, Banerjee asserted the death sentence for the eight arrested accused, but was subjected to noisy demonstrations by women of the area who complained of lack of security.

The Trinamool Congress supremo then rebuked the protestors as well as those arrested for the crime as being "CPI-M people".

With the National Crime Records Bureau putting the state atop the charts on crime against women, Banerjee attributed the fugures to her government's ability to instill confidence in the people to report the crimes.

"During the Left Front regime, despite being subjected to heinous crimes, women never dared to file FIRs or lodge police complaints. They would weep behind curtains and never revealed their ordeals.

"But thanks to the current regime, people are now aware. They are reporting every crime. I welcome this. I appreciate women's attitude to come out and complain," said Banerjee.

She also blamed a section of the media for misleading people and spreading canards against her government.