Kolkata–Days after she expressed solidarity with noted Bengali poet Srijato Bandopadhyay, who was embroiled in a controversy over a poem that allegedly hurt Hindu religious sentiments, writer Mandakranta Sen on Wednesday said she has been threatened with gang-rape.
“Amaake gonodhorshner humki (I am being threatened with gang-rape),” Sen posted on Facebook, also uploading the obscene threat message.
Talking to the media, she said: “I am not worried about myself. The only way to fight fundamentalism is to go on writing more and take out more rallies.”
Sen said she has lodged a First Information Report with the Kolkata police’s cyber crime cell.
Srijato has “strongly condemned” and expressed “disgust” over the issue.
Reacting to the issue, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said, “This has become a new publicity stunt. One will write a poem which will trigger threats from some people… resulting in good media coverage. This trend will continue for some days. Those who are not in the limelight and do not feature in day to day discussions are trying to prove their existence through the media.”
Asked to comment on the poet receiving alleged gang-rape threats following her Facebook post containing her poem, Ghosh added, “This is an attempt to malign the image of our party. Please show me proof that our workers are involved in this. This is all cooked up. If someone has indeed threatened her then the administration will take action against the person concerned as per law.”
A police complaint was lodged against Srijato for posting a 12-line poem titled “Abhishaap” (“Curse”) that was uploaded on Facebook on March 19, the day Adityanath Yogi was sworn in as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.
Complainant Arnab Sarkar, said to be a member of Hindu right wing group, filed a complaint at the Cyber Crime Police Station of northern West Bengal’s Siliguri Police Commissionerate on Monday night, demanding Srijato’s arrest and exemplary punishment for the post.
Srijato and his wife lodged a police complaint at the city police headquarters Lalbazar for allegedly receiving obscene messages though Facebook comments and messenger and receiving con calls from unknown numbers. The noted Bengali poet was provided with a personal security guard following the complaint.
Sen had also participated in a rally in protest against the “attack” on Srijato and in the aftermath of the controversy, had also penned a few lines against fundamentalism.
She had in 2015 returned her Sahitya Akademi Young Writers Special Award to protest against communal attacks in the country. (IANS)
