Kolkata Police arrested 50-year-old Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Kabirul Hasan Mondal after a 21-year-old woman civic volunteer accused him of sexual harassment during the city’s Durga Puja festivities. Media reports identify the accused as Kabirul Hasan Mondal, although some outlets refer to him as Kabirul Islam. He serves in the Kolkata Armed Police’s Third Battalion, B Company. A video of the incident has since gone viral across social media platforms, triggering massive public outrage over the misconduct of an officer whom the police entrusted with maintaining public safety during the Durga Puja rush.
The incident occurred late on Saturday, October 17, near the exit gate of the Suruchi Sangha Durga Puja pandal in New Alipore. The complainant, a Behala resident who volunteered for festival duty, sat on a chair near the exit between 11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. when the incident occurred.
The circulating video shows two women civic volunteers, including the complainant, sitting on chairs in orange T-shirts while the accused stands behind them in police uniform. The footage shows the accused touching one of the seated women inappropriately as she visibly expresses discomfort. Her equally distressed companion looks on, seemingly hesitant to confront a man who wields power and authority.
According to media reports, the woman lodged a written complaint at New Alipore police station on Sunday, October 18. She alleged that the officer made unwanted physical contact with her while she performed her duties at the pandal. Police registered a case under Section 75(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which addresses sexual harassment. Kolkata Police arrested the accused on Monday, October 19, and informed his family about the arrest.
Biswarup Ganguly, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
Suruchi Sangha attracts huge crowds during the festival season, and volunteers often work late into the night at busy entrances and exits as they control crowds and direct visitors. The allegation that a police officer sexually harassed a volunteer at her designated duty post, in full public view, has intensified concerns about accountability among personnel responsible for public safety thus shaking public trust and confidence.
Muslim men hurling lewd remarks at women remain an all-too-familiar problem across Indian cities. In Kolkata, areas such as Park Circus, Metiabruz and Garden Reach have long faced concerns about street harassment and the normalization of catcalling as a result of long reigns of Muslim-pandering governments. This case, however, raises a more disturbing question about women’s safety when predatory men wear police uniforms and wield the authority that the public expects them to use responsibly.
Now, Indian courts have, in some cases, drawn criticism for showing undue leniency towards convicted rapists, including offenders who raped and murdered young girls. Critics have also questioned judicial decisions that invoked historical or literary works when considering reduced sentences. Against this backdrop, many may question whether the legal system will impose a sufficiently stringent punishment if the court finds the officer guilty.
The allegations carry additional significance because the incident occurred in front of a Durga Puja pavilion, a venue that Hindus associate with worship and religious celebration. The accused, a Muslim police official, now faces allegations of inappropriate physical contact with a young woman outside the pandal. And so, we must also compare this case with the recent incident in Saudi Arabia, where authorities reportedly executed a Bangladeshi couple over what some reports described as an act involving a kiss inside a mosque. Saudi Arabia follows a legal system shaped by Sharia, and its an established fact and numerous Indian Muslims advocate a greater role for Sharia law in the country’s judiciary. This case, involving a Muslim police officer accused of molesting a young woman in front of a Hindu place of worship, raises a pointed question for those who advocate Sharia principles in India: will they demand that authorities punish the accused according to those principles, or do they support Sharia’s implementation only when it serves their interests?
Will advocates of Sharia law in India demand that ASI Kabirul Hasan face the death penalty under interpretations of Sharia that prescribe such a punishment?
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Navratri ended w/ Dushera 2 days ago, while Durga Puja ended yesterday. One major issue, which Ashlyn covered in past years, was the controversy of muslim participation in Garba, one of the major celebrations of the festival in North & West India
Everything Ashlyn described in 2022 is still true, but this time, some events started requiring ID and a confirmation that the people attending these Hindu events were actually Hindu. As usual, Mohammedans online whined, and secular Indians who wanted to bring over muslim friends to such events bitched about it on @X. This time, the pushback seems to have been more successful, and the pushback against muslims trying to attend seemed to be more successful
Incidentally, while those secular Indians have been unhappy about muslims being excluded from the celebrations, there were videos of muslimahs getting in & dancing to those tunes. Those women who uploaded their reels were subject to insults from 🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁 muslim men! The good thing this year – far less pressure on Hindus to admit muslims into their festivals
On the above story, muslim police personnel had no business being assigned duties at the pujas, which is a Hindu religious festival. Had that happened, this woman wouldn’t have been groped. I don’t think they should apply for a death sentence for him, but at the same time, like I said yesterday, I refuse to condemn Saudi Arabia for executing those 2 Bangladeshis, regardless of whether or not they were a couple