More than 36 hours have passed since five young women and their family members were allegedly abused and assaulted by some residents of Duttabad, off EM Bypass, but the Bidhannagar commissionerate has not been able to make any arrest.
The cops at Bidhannagar North police station recorded an FIR allegedly after dillydallying for several hours since they were first approached.
The Bidhannagar police have started a case against some residents of Duttabad for molestation, criminal intimidation, wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing grievous hurt.
One of the women told Metro on Wednesday that she had spotted two cops standing on the other side of the road when they were being assaulted.
“They heard our screams and came closer. When we asked for help, they said they were from Calcutta police and we were standing in an area under Bidhannagar police. They advised us to dial 100 and left. We dialled 100. After some time, a team from Bidhannagar police and another from Maniktala police station (Calcutta police) arrived,” the woman said.
An IPS officer at Lalbazar, when asked about the alleged behaviour of the two cops, said: “We are not aware of any such allegation. Now that it has been brought to our notice, we will look into it.”
The women were out on a night drive on Diwali. They parked their car in front of a fast food stall around 10pm.
Some of them had gone to relieve themselves inside a dark alley in Duttabad when they were allegedly confronted by the residents. The residents allegedly made lewd remarks and the women protested.
More residents turned up and allegedly assaulted the group.
One of the women said she ran out to the Bypass and sought help from family members. Family members of some women soon arrived. The residents allegedly did not spare the family members, too.
After the cops arrived, the women and their family members were taken to Bidhannagar North police station. There they were allegedly made to wait for several hours before they were even heard out by the cops.
The group from Duttabad lodged a counter-complaint with Bidhannagar South police station. “A case has also been registered against the women and their family members,” said an officer of the commissionerate.
A woman from Duttabad said they had attacked the women as “they abused us when we tried to prevent them from urinating in front of our homes”.