CRPF personnel face rape charges in Bengal village

Women in Birhandi village of West Bengal's West Midnapore District lodged a complaint on Saturday with the sub divisional officer at Jhargram, accusing security personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force of sexually assaulting them.
 
Corroborating their charges, several villagers claimed that paramilitary forces tortured them during the anti-Maoist operations and they allegedly raped ten women in the village.
 
The women had staged mass protest demonstrations over the last ten days and lamented that they didn't get any help from

the concerned authorities.
 
Finally, they knocked at the doors of the SDO, the villagers contended.
 
"Today, they all came to file a mass petition against the joint forces and alleged that the personnel have raped women in the village," said C Murugan, SDO of Jhargram.
 
On July 20, nearly 10,000 women accompanied by young girls had staged a procession to voice their protest against these incidents.
 
They demonstration was held against the alleged harassment by the personnel of paramilitary CRPF on the pretext of flushing out Maoists.