A young couple who had shifted to a rented apartment near Anandapur on the eastern fringes of Kolkata on Tuesday alleged that they were abused and the woman was pushed after their pet cat sneaked into a neighbour’s flat and urinated there on Wednesday night.
The woman has filed a complaint of molestation against some neighbours. Residents of the housing complex have also registered a case alleging that the couple misbehaved with them and assaulted them over a “trivial matter” related to their pet.
The incident happened at a housing complex with 280 flats late on Wednesday.
The woman, who works for an NGO, told The Telegraph that she and her husband were verbally abused and she was pushed when they went to the neighbour’s flat on Wednesday evening to bring their pet back.
“They were abusing my husband and when I went, some of the women in the housing complex started abusing me for wearing shorts. They also pushed me,” the woman in her 20s said.
Officers of Narendrapur police station said the woman had not mentioned anything about her apparel in the complaint.
“She has mentioned only about her cat that had strayed into a neighbour’s apartment and how she and her husband had been heckled. There is no mention of anyone objecting to her clothes,” an officer said.
The Telegraph spoke to office-bearers of the residents’ welfare association (RWA) of the housing complex who said it was a “trivial matter” that had been blown “out of proportion”.
“The couple’s pet cat had sneaked into a neighbour’s flat once on Wednesday afternoon. The resident of that flat had treated it nicely, fed it and given it back to the owners. Later in the evening, it went back to the flat again and urinated there. This time, the resident told the pet owners that they should keep their cat tied up or under control. This comment stoked a violent reaction from the cat’s owner,” said an official of the RWA.
The official said the man got involved in a heated discussion, and his wife, too, joined and started screaming at them.
“I requested them to calm down but they did not. Instead, the woman started screaming for help, as if she had been attacked. Two women residents who live in the housing complex came forward and tried to pacify her but she pushed them,” the official alleged.
The woman dialled 100 and alerted the police.
Based on her complaint, officers have started a case of assault and outrage of modesty of the woman.
Later, on Thursday afternoon, the police said they had received a complaint against the couple. “We have received complaints from both sides. Two cases have been started,” said Vaibhav Tiwari, superintendent of police, Baruipur police district.