Bengal Shocker: Owner Allegedly Beats up Same-Sex Couple Living Together

Recently, on September Supreme Court had decriminalized same-sex relationships, but despite that, a couple from Bengal district Swapan Biswas (45) and Bikash Das (34) came under attack from the owner of their house and beaten up allegedly because of the nature of their relationship.

According to a complaint lodged with Chakdah police station in Nadia district, about 65 km from Kolkata, the owner of the house beat up Bikash Das with a wooden plank on Sunday afternoon and showered abuses on him.

“On November 18, 2018, when I was cooking, Ananda Das the owner and his wife descended on me and said we have to vacate the house today itself. After I said November 19 was the Last day that we would depart on that day, they refused to listen us, began to abuse us in the vilest of terms and landed blows on my right jaw and hand with the wooden plank with that the door is ‘locked’,” wrote Bikash Das in a complaint.

Das received a complete of 3 blows as a result of that his wrist joint was swollen and he couldn't move it. The inspector-in-charge of the police station aforesaid that he received the complaint, however, there was no mention that the attack was due to the objection of the relation Bikash Das shared along with his partner. Police didn't arrest anybody.

“After we were beaten up we were confused by the suddenness of the attack and thought that if we mentioned our relation in the complaint the police may not take cognizance,” said the duo.

The owner of the house denied the attack. “They used to frequently consume alcohol and got into noisy altercations, disturbing the peace of the house,” the wife of Ananda Das alleged to the media.

Biswas and Bikash share a relationship that dates back to 2007, when Bikash, who studied till 9 standard accustomed work for a hosiery unit in North 24 Parganas district. “We met in the compartment of a train in the Sealdah-Krishnagar section,” recalled Biswas.

Biswas, who studied up to class 5, is employed as a casual employee worker in Eastern Railway and earns about Rs 14,000 per month. In 2009, Bikash has informed his family of his feeling towards his partner, shocked his family members. However, the family didn't offer their consent to it.

“We quickly grew close to each other. However, my partner objected to my job. After we began living together, I gave up my job and concentrated on cooking and household chores,” said Das. About 19 months ago, the duo started living in a rented house of Ananda Das. “We used to pay a monthly rent of Rs 1,600 for a 13 ft X 11 ft room and a kitchen,” said Biswas.

However, soon after the owner of the house discovered their relation, he and his family members allegedly began to harass the couple. “We were perpetually taunted. They use to call me a hijra and targeted me with expletives,” alleged Das.

Under constant pressure and harassment to vacate their home, Biswas and Bikash scouted for another house on rent less than a km off from where they lived.

Also Read: Section 377: Supreme Court Decriminalises Homosexuality