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I Want To Study, Says 15-Year-Old Girl In Letter To West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

I Want To Study, But I Am Always Afraid, Says 15-Year-Old Girl In Letter To Mamata
Closeup shot of a young man writing on a note pad
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Closeup shot of a young man writing on a note pad

A 15-year-old girl, whose uncle, a CPM supporter, was killed in front of her eyes in 2013, has made a desperate appeal to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, to help her continue her studies free from regular threats from political goons, according to a Telegraph report.

Hand written on a page of an exercise book, the girl, whose name Telegraph withheld because she is a minor, gave a terrifying account of her daily life as a student in Nadia in the state.

"I want to study. But I am always afraid. I fear they will beat us up again, they will murder my father and uncles. I want to get back home. I want to return to my old school. That is why I wrote to the chief minister, asking for freedom from this fear and uncertainty," the paper quoted from the letter the girl wrote in Bengali. She asked Banerjee to keep her address a secret.

The girl has been living at the house of a relative with her mother for the last three years, ever since they were forced to flee their home after her uncle was killed allegedly by Trinamool supporters who also set their house on fire.

She says in the letter that she is often stopped on her way back home from school by men on motorcycles who threaten to kidnap her and kill her father, the report said. The threats have become more frequent after the TMC's sweep on May 19 in the Assembly polls.

"Unknown people threaten me on the road that they will kill my father and harm us.... So, I request you to ensure that I can continue my studies in a terror-free environment. Please help me," she wrote. Telegraph corroborated her version of events with the headmaster of the school she attended.

The girl's mother, the paper said, had lodged a complaint against 16 Trinamul activists in 2013.

In the face if widespread post poll violence in West Bengal, state Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi had written to Banerjee, asking her to take strict action to check such incidents.

The Governor had appealed to "all sections of society and political parties not to take recourse to violence and take part in the democratic process peacefully." The Left Front and the Congress had jointly complained to the Governor about the poll-violence across the state.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.