The National Commission for Women (NCW) today has taken notice of an incident, in which four people were pinning a “woman” down and beating “her”. The video has gone viral. The NCW has demanded an investigation.

A report on the matter has been summoned from the state police DGP. The video of the assault in Kamarhati under Belghoria police station, spread on social media on Monday night, where one can see four people holding onto “her” hands and feet and being beaten. Several people surrounded “her” and kept hitting “her” with sticks from different directions. Amidst the ongoing uproar in the state over multiple incidents of bullying by close associates of the ruling party, this ‘new’ video has emerged (The Statesman has not verified the authenticity of the viral video).

Barrackpore police have also taken action. They have filed a suo motu case regarding the video and have started an investigation. The police have further stated that the video is an old one. Legal action will be taken against those seen in the video. Two of them are already in jail, police said. The incident took place at the Ariadaha Taltala Sporting Club in Kamarhati. The BJP claimed that local Trinamul leaders are behind the incident. BJP state president and Union minister Sukanta Majumder and BJP’s national IT in-charge and state co-observer Amit Malviya had condemned the incident. “TMC men usually target women, who turn down their overtures. Perhaps Mamata Banerjee can explain why her confidant Madan Mitra’s men are assaulting women with such impunity,” Malviya said.

Trinamul has countered BJP’s post with one of their own. Party spokesperson Riju Dutta wrote on his X handle, “This is a video from March 2021. The accused are Jayanta Singh and his followers. Among those seen in the video, at least two are currently in jail.” The BJP has claimed that a woman is being beaten in the video. Trinamul argued that the person being beaten could be a man, and this needs to be investigated. Riju further wrote in his post, “Bengal has rejected BJP. Now, all kinds of videos are being used to target Trinamul. This is an attempt to defame the state.” In their post, the BJP wrote, “In the Taltala Club of Kamarhati, it is seen how Madan’s close associate Jayanta Singh is beating an unarmed woman. This barbarity is a stain on humanity in a state where the government prides itself on women’s safety. We demand a swift investigation and justice.”