The looming safety crisis for women in Bengal: How Trinamool is pushing women towards grim, unsafe lives?

Tagore's Bengal, which bloomed on the banks of the Ganges and the Hoogly, immersed in its literature, rich cultural heritage, and Goddess Durga's worship...is no longer safe for women. With rising atrocities against them, it's just fear that lingers within. Earning the label of "rape state", there has been a systemic epidemic during the 13-year reign of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. 

West Bengal recorded about 37,738 cases of crimes against women, which was one of the highest nationwide, as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2022 report. This reveals a rate of 71.8 incidents per 1,00,000 women, even surpassing the national average of 66.4. Out of the total 31,516 rape cases reported in India, 3,000 were recorded in Bengal alone. This further translates to the fact that nearly 1 in 10 rape cases reported in India is from Bengal.  

It got even more alarming. According to the statistics by the State Police, initial reports for 2023 found a 15.3% jump in crimes against women than 2022. Even the 2024 data showed no change, with 4,000 rape and assault cases reported by mid-year. 

With continuing instances, such as the recent Panskura Hospital scandal, experts project that the total could have exceeded 40,000 cases by September 2025, a 20% increase from 2022. These tragic figures are more than mere data on paper; they recite a tale of destroyed lives, silenced souls, and a failure of the government, which solely relies on "political power and control, rather than people's freedom and safety." 

What's even more disheartening is that the conviction rates in West Bengal lie at 17%, which is far lower than the national average of 27%. The accused, who is often affiliated with TMC, gets away, and justice seems to be a distant dream. 

According to a 2024 study by the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, West Bengal's "Women Risk Index" is rated at 8.2 out of 10, which is the highest in Eastern India. This is largely because of low reporting rates, as almost 30% assaults go unreported due to intimidation, followed by system partiality. As #BengalRapeState trends on X, there is a national outcry that is taking hold now. 

Here is a breakdown of the cases, one by one: 

The nation shall never forget the horrifying, brutal R.G. Kar rape and murder case. Once a place of learning, it is now a testimony to the horrors of the night of August 9, 2024. 

Abhaya, a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor, was brutally raped and murdered in the medical college and hospital while she was on duty. She faced multiple fractures, bite marks all over the body, while she was strangled and assaulted all along, with her body dumped on a staircase to be shown as a "suicide." 

The prime accused was a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, but as the case deepened, it all turned out to be "institutional complicity" belonging to the inner circle of the TMC. 

It was a systemic cover-up, starting immediately with a delay in FIR. The police continued claiming it was a suicide despite visible inconsistencies. The principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was appointed to the post owing to his connections with the TMC, despite corruption allegations against him. There was an alleged tampering with evidence, with the sanitization of the crime scene, and pressuring the staff to change their statements. His wife, who is a TMC candidate, further raised suspicions as "party" and "administration" are all the same in Bengal. 

Following the horrifying incident, protests erupted nationwide, with junior doctors heading for a strike for nearly 40 days, and a demand for a CBI investigation. The case was transferred to the CBI by the Calcutta High Court in 2024, with financial irregularities in the hospital, connected with TMC leaders.

CM Manata Banerjee rested the blame upon "external forces" trying to trash Bengal's image. A mob, followed by Mamata's women's rally, thronged inside the hospital and destroyed the evidence. It has been alleged that the group was filled with TMC affiliates. 

The principal was, however, convicted and sentenced to life, but Abhaya's parents called out that there was a "larger conspiracy" involved with many forces behind, who had been protected by the State. Her father had told The Hindu, "They killed her twice - once with hands, once with silence." 

The incident is just one example of TMC's solid pattern of working: they threatened families, transferred protesting doctors, and ensured media blackouts in the region. And, it didn't end there...

The echoes of the RG Kar rape and murder haunted all along, unfolding yet another brutal nightmare just ten months later on 27th June 2025. A 24-year-old law student was taken inside the seminar hall of the Kasba Law College under false pretenses, after which she was gang-raped. A prominent member of the TMC Student Wing was one of them, who beat her and threatened her to release her video if she spoke out. 

In her FIR, the victim stated that she was confined, assaulted, and even warned of death. The accused, named Manojit Mishra, also faced charges of theft and assault earlier. He was arrested with two other assailants. 

TMC began "victim blaming" with its MP stating that the victim "provoked" the attack by going for late-night classes. These statements were condemned all over the country. Mahua Moitra also called it "embarrassing" in the manner the party handled it all, with no internal call. 

Another example of TMC shielding abusers. This was proven through delayed DNA testing and the reluctance to invoke POSCO by the police. Again, protests erupted all over Kolkata, with strikes similar after the RG Kar incident. 

BJP slammed TMC, calling it a "party of rape", even referring to it as the dismissal just like the 2012 Park Street Case. This is how those accused with party badges are freed from investigation, while the sufferers face harassment. 

All of this goes far ahead of Kasba alone, with similar assaults by TMCP affiliates. A 2025 study reveals a 40% increase in campus harassment in those campuses that are dominated by TMC. Again, TMC proved to be a failure in ensuring a just party line, where it could start by reforming its student wing. 

Sandeskhali, a village in the Sundarbans delta, saw women rising in unity against Block President Sheikh Shahjahan, alleging systematic rapes, land grabs, and massive trafficking undertaken by his gang. 

As many as 200 complaints against Shahjahan revealed overnight abductions, where the women were taken to be beaten, assaulted, and ensuring forceful conversions of their farmlands to shrimp ponds, which benefited TMC. 

Post-elections in 2021, violence in Bengal increased, more so, used as a "political weapon." While Shahjahan was simply evading his arrest, his aides attacked the ED teams. CBI took charge and filed multiple FIRs for rapes and murders, along with three killings. 

TMC denied the allegations, calling them all "BJP fabrications." With Shahjahan's arrest, a widespread network was found, revealing TMC's dark empire. 

As many as 500 families were displaced due to land grabs in the region. Further delays allowed Shahjahan's bail in June 2025. Apart from political violence, Bengal also faces rising instances of human trafficking. 

The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (ATHU) of the Kolkata Police raided a brothel in Burtolla on September 11, 2025, where they rescued nine minor girls who were aged between 12 to 17, and were brought all the way from impoverished villages of Bihar and Jharkhand. 

The girls were sold for Rs 5000 each and were beaten, drugged, and faced forced prostitution. Six people were arrested, with alleged TMC "cut money". Nearly 20% kickbacks were taken by local leaders for protection. 

NCRB data reveals another trajectory in West Bengal. With 1,261 human trafficking cases in 2022, West Bengal ranked third all over India. This was a 25% jump from 2021, with many minors thronging to Kolkata's red-light districts. 

Further, in 2025's Murshidabad riots, 500 Hindus were forced to flee following abductions and assaults on women during the Waqf disputes. Again, survivors were forced to take their complaints, with waging threats. 

The facility manager of the Panskura Super Speciality Hospital in East Midnapore, who has TMC affiliations, was arrested after accusations of serially raping women staffers and ward attendants on a contractual basis, while they were threatened with their jobs. They were repeatedly assaulted since 2024, while facing constant ignorance of complaints and job termination threats. 

Again, the complaints got buried, with a delay in FIRs. The hospital administration raised its hands, calling it an "internal matter." After NCW intervened and the matter leaked to the media, the accused was arrested. It was called a "political vendetta" by the TMC.

Again, an institutional failure, with power and influence taking over authorities, where matters are dismissed as "mere exaggeration." 

Communal attacks on Hindus with abduction and assaults on women, a BJP worker was kicked in the stomach while 8 months pregnant, with her home vandalised in an attack by TMC assailants, followed by dowry deaths in Purba Medinipur since 2022, and weekly assaults in North 24 Parganas...all prove the story of a state burning in atrocities. Bribes, transfers, and life threats...TMC is taking care of all of it, only to silence everyone with its power. "Cut money" buys everything here, even loyalty and character. Trinamool's grip is only leading to a crisis that can destroy Bengal. It's time Bengal stands up in the 2026 assembly elections, for its dawn...and freedom from TMC's impunity.