A 30-year-old housewife attempted suicide after being allegedly refused Covid-19 vaccine, dragged out by the neck and abused by a TMC Councillor in Durgapur, West Bengal.
The incident occurred last Thursday at Sukumar Nagar, located in Ward No 42 of Durgapur. Jharna Das, the wife of a grassroot level BJP worker was standing in queue for the Covid-19 vaccine at the local primary school being used as a makeshift vaccine centre. Despite waiting for hours, Jharna didn’t get the vaccine. When she questioned why was she being denied the vaccine while others were given the shot, she was allegedly dragged by her neck, abused and thrown out of the queue by TMC’s Priyanka Panjha, councillor of ward no. 42.
Next day, Jharna’s family found her missing from the house. Her husband searched but couldn’t locate her. Later, he learnt from the officials of Borjora Police Station that his wife had attempted suicide by jumping in the waters of Damodar river. She had been rescued by some fishermen. Police had initially rushed her to the Durgapur Mahakuma hospital; the woman was later referred and transferred to a private hospital in Vidhannagar. Her condition is grave and reportedly she is still struggling to survive.
The victim’s husband, Sujit Das alleges that his wife was denied vaccine, held by the neck and dragged out of the queue in front of everyone solely because he is a BJP worker. Unable to bear with that humiliation, his wife attempted to end her life by jumping into the deep waters of Damodar, he adds.
Sujit Das, a man of limited resources, runs a grocery store for his livelihood and is unable to bear the expenses of his wife’s treatment at the private hospital. He, along with his wife, had worked for a BJP candidate during the past elections. Das alleges that his wife has been targeted because of this. Unable to pay the hospital charges which have amounted to around Rs. 4 lakhs already, Das has made an appeal to the Prime Minister and the state’s Chief Minister to provide him with the financial assistance to pay for his wife’s treatment.
Sujit holds Trinamool councillor Priyanka Panjha responsible for his wife’s condition and the humiliation that pushed his wife into taking such an extreme step. The police have also recovered a suicide note from Jharna’s possession. Considering all this evidence, an FIR has been lodged against Priyanka Panjha at Durgapur’s Coke Oven Police Station. Several other TMC members’ names have also been included in the complaint.
However, TMC councillor Priyanka Panjha has rubbished the charge against her. She has threatened to take legal action against Jharna and Sujit for ‘defaming’ her.
BJP leader and Councillor of Durgapur Municipality, Chandrashekhar Bandopadhyaya has asserted that Jharna was indeed denied her right to the vaccine due to her connection with the BJP and was subjected to public humiliation, which compelled her to take the drastic step. He has called this incident a shame on the face of West Bengal and has demanded immediate arrest of the accused. Despite the FIR against her, till the latest reports, West Bengal police had not detained Priyanka Panjha.
Since May 2, TMC goons have unleashed a wave of violence – murder, rape, arson – that has displaced at least 40,000 Hindu supporters of BJP and their families, forcing some to seek refuge in neighboring states. But there has been a more insidious form of persecution as well. Multiple reports have come in of people being denied vaccine, rations and other government services. Even professionals like poster/banner makers, printers and sound system providers who worked with BJP are not being spared. People are being forced to make contributions to the CM’s Relief Fund if they want vaccine.
Yet, the country’s left-liberal intelligentsia and Anglophone media has not spoken a word against this naked fascism. Judiciary is loathe to take suo motu notice of this utter disregard for democratic norms. Many in the establishment are even positioning Mamata Banerjee as a potential PM candidate for the 2024 elections!
Did you find this article useful? We’re a non-profit. Make a donation and help pay for our journalism.
HinduPost is now on Telegram. For the best reports & opinions on issues concerning Hindu society, subscribe to HinduPost on Telegram.
