Prominent Kolkata Muslims urge Mamata Banerjee to punish assailants
Condemning recent attacks at the NRS Hospital and harassment of former Miss India Ushoshi Sengupta, city-based Muslims have written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee not to spare any criminal owing to their religious beliefs.
Kolkata: Condemning recent attacks at the NRS Hospital and harassment of former Miss India Ushoshi Sengupta, city-based Muslims have written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee not to spare any criminal owing to their religious beliefs.
In an open letter, many prominent members of the community said they were living in Kolkata for decades and deeply grieved with these recent incidents where the accused were Muslims.
"We are grieved and embarrassed," the members wrote.
The concerned signatories suggested Banerjee two ways to deal with the problem.
"Bring the assailants to book, not just in these two instances but every single instance where Muslims are involved. They should not be allowed to get away scot-free because they happened to be Muslims (as is a growing perception)," the letter read.
"This would send out the message that members of one community are not being shielded or appeased (as most people believe)".
They also suggested the state government engage with "Muslim youth and their families across Kolkata in the area of gender sensitization, civic consciousness and law compliance" programmes.
This could require long-time patience but it should be implemented right away, they added.
The letter ended with signatures of eminent Muslims along with the words "and thousands of silent sufferers".
