Woman gangraped for demanding refund of cut-money in Bengal, TMC leaders under scanner

Kolkata: A woman from West Bengal was allegedly gangraped by four men including a panchayat member of TMC when she asked for a refund of the ‘cut money’ paid by her for getting a house under a government scheme.

The incident took place in Maynaguri, some 16 km from district headquarters Jalpaiguri in last week. However, the police complaint was filed against Md Bulbul, member of the Saktibari II gram panchayat and Zahidul Islam, Joynal Abedin and Azizul Haque on Monday.

"The matter is under investigation," a senior police officer said. Although, the accused have not been arrested yet.

The woman, who underwent a medical test on Tuesday, accused Bulbul of taking Rs 7,000 from her last year when she applied for financial assistance to build a house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMYA) scheme.

The accused had allegedly taken some money from the woman, promising to get her a house under a government housing scheme, reported news agency IANS. Realising that she may not get the house, the woman asked the accused to refund the amount taken as 'cut money'. She was asked to meet him at a particular place, where he allegedly raped her.