I will kill rapists with my own hands: Bengal MP

Is it any wonder that order is deteriorating in West Bengal by the day when elected representatives — like Lok Sabha members — encourage the public to take the law into their hands?

At a recent mass meeting at Nakashipara in Nadia, a Trinamool Congress MP asked the people to lynch those who rape and murder women. Tapas Pal, who represents the constituency of Krishnagarh, Nadia, in the Lok Sabha and is also a popular Bengali film actor, said: “I am Tapas Pal speaking. If a single woman is raped and murdered anywhere in Krishnagarh, I will not spare the culprit. I will finish his entire family. I am telling all of you to catch such people and lynch them to death.”

Pal was instructed to visit Nakashipara by Trinamool chief and railway minister Mamata Banerjee after the rape and murder of three women in the town. Upon reaching the place, Pal found himself amid an angry crowd fuming over the crime. But, instead of pacifying the gathering, Pal did the opposite by instigating them further.

Later, when reporters asked him if he was getting mixed up about the roles of an actor and a parliamentarian, Pal said he did not regret his statements. “What I said was neither unjust nor unparliamentary. I am not at all sorry,” Pal said. “Three women have been raped and murdered in my constituency. The police are doing nothing. How long will the villagers hold their patience? If the police do not take appropriate action, I will kill the miscreants myself.”