Woman’s fingers chopped after her cow ate grains from a neighbour’s field
MALDA: A group of villagers in West Bengal’s Malda district allegedly stripped a 33-yearold woman, thrashed her and chopped two fingers of her left hand after her cow ate grains from a neighbour’s field.
The incident happened at Munnitola village in Malda on Saturday evening. The woman was admitted to the Malda Medical College and Hospital in a critical state. “Now the goons are threatening us to withdraw the police complaint,” the woman told HT.
Her son was also injured when he went to save his mother, sources said. The victim’s family lodged a complaint against Harun Sheikh, Lalu Sheikh, Iftar Sheikh, Ahmed Sheikh and three local goons, police said. The suspects are on the run.
“I can’t imagine people can strip my wife and try to kill her. I have already lodged a written complaint with the police against seven persons,” the woman’s husband said. “I work as a labourer. When the incident happened, I wasn’t in the village.”
Sources said one of the cows entered Harun’s field and ate some grain. After this, Harun caught the cow and beat the animal mercilessly, fracturing two of its legs. Police said when the woman found her cow was being thrashed, she rushed to Harun’s field and repeatedly requested him to let the cow go.
But instead of listening to the woman, the men pounced upon her, stripped her and started beating her. They also tried to hack Ayesha with a sickle. When she tried to resist the attack with her left hand, her little finger and ring finger were chopped off. As word of the thrashing spread, her son Iqbal rushed to the field, only to be attacked by the same men who hit him on the head with a sickle. THRISSUR: Tribals of Athirappilly vividly remember director Mani Ratnam’s adventurous setting for ‘Raavan’ and Aishwarya Rai’s fall into the roaring waters. The thunderous waterfall that has formed the backdrop of several Bollywood hits could eventually fall off the map thanks to an ambitious power project.
A favourite picnic spot and weekend getaway, the Athirappilly waterfall is in news again as the demand for a hydel power project in its upstream has been revived after a long gap, triggering loud protests from naturelovers and local tribals. However, the ruling CPI(M), a strong votary of the dam, has dubbed these protests as ‘green fundamentalism’.
The ruling LDF government feels the dam can be built without disturbing the course of the waterfall and the surrounding green cover. But its opponents say the dam will deal a death blow to the picturesque landscape and displace many tribal families. Earlier this month, the Kadar tribals living in the area took a vow, saying the hydel project can only be built over their bodies.