Chargesheet against Tapas Paul for rape and kill remark

The CID, probing the hate speeches of Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Paul, submitted a chargesheet in a West Bengal court on Thursday indicting him of several sections including outraging the modesty of women.

The actor-turned-politician, who represents Krishnanagar Lok Sabha constituency, was caught on successive tapes in June last year exhorting his party men to kill Marxist workers and threatened to let loose his boys to rape their women.

"We have submitted a chargesheet before the Krishnanagar court, under various sections including 506 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code," public prosecutor Bireshwar Mukherjee said.

Section 509 deals with words, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman and carries a maximum punishment of one year simple imprisonment.

Section 506 deals with criminal intimidation and carries a maximum punishment of seven years if the threat is for causing death, grievous hurt or to or to impute, unchastity to a woman.

While holding rallies in several villages across his constituency in Nadia district, Paul had called on his supporters to slit the throats of CPI-M activists and threatened to gun down rival political activists.

"If a CPI-M man dares to touch anybody, I will take out my gun and shoot him. I always carry a gun... I will destroy his entire clan. I will make their family pay dearly. I will ask my boys to go there. They will rape them and leave," Paul had said then.

Several cases including public interest litigations were filed demanding a probe by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and arrest and prosecution of Paul.

The Calcutta High Court bench of Justice Nishita Mhatre in September last year had directed the CID to initiate a probe and file a first information report in the case.