Agartala, July 1: Members of the Tripura Pradesh Mahila Congress on Wednesday staged a protest at the office of the Tripura Commission for Women, accusing the statutory body of failing to act on a series of incidents involving alleged crimes against women in the state.
The protesters entered the Commission’s premises and raised slogans against the Commission, alleging that it had remained silent despite several incidents of violence and injustice involving women. The demonstration led to a heated confrontation with police personnel deployed at the spot, although no major untoward incident was reported.
Addressing the media during the protest, Tripura Pradesh Mahila Congress president Sarbani Ghosh Chakraborty alleged that the Women’s Commission had failed to discharge its responsibilities as an independent body entrusted with safeguarding the rights and interests of women.
She further alleged that the Commission’s Chairperson was functioning “like a spokesperson of the BJP” instead of acting impartially. According to Chakraborty, the Commission had not taken adequate action in several recent cases, including the alleged unnatural death of a woman employee at Tripura Shantiniketan Medical College, incidents of violence against women, and the alleged assault of a female student at Anandanagar involving the son of a BJP leader.
The protesters accused the Commission of acting as an “agent of the BJP” rather than serving as an independent institution committed to protecting women’s rights. They demanded immediate intervention in the cases they cited and called for greater accountability from the Commission.
At the time of the protest, the Chairperson of the Tripura Commission for Women was not present at the office. A large contingent of police personnel, led by the Officer-in-Charge of the West Agartala Women Police Station, was deployed to maintain law and order and prevent any escalation of the situation.
Mahila Congress leaders stated that they would continue their agitation until the Chairperson met them and responded to their demands. The protest remained peaceful despite tense exchanges between demonstrators and police.
There was no immediate response from the Tripura Commission for Women regarding the allegations made by the Mahila Congress.
