Tapasi Malik’s charred body was recovered from the abandoned Tata Nano factory site in Singur (Representational image)
The father of a 20-year-old woman raped and killed during the 2006 anti-land acquisition movement in Singur has criticised Trinamool Congress (TMC) for giving her killer’s relative a ticket for the panchayat election.
Tapasi Malik’s charred body was recovered from the abandoned Tata Nano factory site in Singur. TMC has named Rathin Malik as candidate from a Hooghly gram panchayat. Rathin is nephew of CPM worker Debu Malik, who was convicted of Tapasi’s rape and murder.
“After coming to power, the TMC returned the land to unwilling farmers who now grow crops … But I could never imagine that one day the party would make a relative of my daughter’s murderer a poll nominee,” said Manoranjan Malik, the father.
He underlined he was not hurt for not getting a ticket but because “injustice was meted out to me.” He called the TMC move a matter of shame. “How did the party forget my daughter was a member of TMC’s Save Farmland Committee? I have no grudge against the party chief Mamata Banerjee. I still have faith in her leadership. But local TMC leaders have started favouring those who did not support our movement.”
He claimed to have resisted pressure to force him to withdraw his nomination. “The moment they made Rathin the candidate, I was determined to contest this election as an independent.” Manoranjan is contesting for a seat in the district’s zilla parishad.
Tapasi became the face of the movement after CPM workers allegedly killed her in December 2006. TMC MLA Becharam Manna said Manoranjan was not given a ticket since there were others. “We have given tickets to deserving candidates.”
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