An all-woman police team went door to door in Sandeshkhali, in North 24-Parganas, on Tuesday morning and spent hours listening to what women there had to say.
Some complained of being threatened, while some complained of harassment by being made to wait for long hours “unnecessarily”. Some said they had been hit and mentally tortured, the police said on Tuesday evening.
The all-woman police team, headed by the deputy inspector-general of police, CID, Soma Das Mitra, met “at least 60-70 women” during the day.
“At each venue, we met several women who were waiting to talk with us. We encouraged them to share their problems and fears with us,” said a member of the police team.
The team was set up on Monday to interact with the women of Sandeshkhali amid allegations that many of them had been subjected to torture and sexual harassment. Such allegations triggered unrest in the area a few days ago.
DIG Das Mitra said they received “four specific complaints” on the first day of their visit.
“We have received four specific complaints. The women who lodged the complaints said they had been threatened or forced to wait for long hours. Complaints of assault and intimidation have also emerged. We visited door to door so the women could talk to us without any fear. We will visit Sandeshkhali again,” she said.
Sources in the police said details of the four complaints have been shared with the district police for “necessary action”.
None of the four complainants spoke of rape or sexual harassment, an officer who was privy to the content of the complaints said.
This was possibly the first time the women living in remote villages of the Sandeshkhali block, around 70km from Kolkata, got an opportunity to speak to an all-woman police team about their fears and plight.
“It was apparent that they felt more comfortable sharing their fears and problems with us than with male officers. This is a confidence-building exercise. We want the women to share their problems with us without any hesitation or fear of any backlash,” said a member of the all-woman team.
The team visited seven houses on Tuesday.
A senior officer in the police directorate said the all-woman team has been set up keeping in mind the convenience of the women of Sandeshkhali.
“It is obvious the women will be more comfortable speaking to female officers than male officers,” said a senior IPS officer.
On Monday, senior police officers of the Barasat range had announced that a special team led by a woman officer was being formed to probe the allegations of sexual assault and harassment of women in Sandeshkhali.
DIG (Barasat range) Sumit Kumar said on Monday that none of the complaints the police had received till Monday was that of rape.