Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee promised zero tolerance against rape cases in her speech on Independence Day, but a barrage of rape cases are being reported out of Bengal daily.

A standard VII pupil was allegedly attacked by a group of boys in suburban town of Barasat in West Bengal. A few people who came to her aid were also reportedly beaten up.

According to the pupil she had gone to a local tailor’s shop on Eid when the group of boys passed comment on her. When she retaliated, they assaulted her.

“There were five boys and they beat me up mercilessly, when I protested about harassing me. I have been bruised all over with injuries on my hand, abdomen and legs. I can recognise all of them,” she said.

“We were badly beaten. These boys [the accused] always hang out here; they do drugs and tease girls,” said a boy who tried to intervene and help the pupil.

The accused have not been located and the police are yet to pick up anyone even for questioning. This is the second case of violence against women from Barasat in the past month.

Local police have stepped up patrols but are yet to arrest anyone. According to locals, it will not have much impact as these people are easily let off.

“There is a problem in the way the Indian Penal Code handles such incidents. Neither the court can give extraordinary punishment since the law is soft on them,” said a police official, unwilling to be named.

Another such incident was reported from the neighbouring Howrah district concerning the alleged rape of a 30-year-old mentally challenged women.

However, Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra claimed that the state was “number one” in law and order in the country.

“If you make a comparative study of the law and order situation in Bengal and other states, you will find we are number one among all the states,” the minister claimed.

According to figures by the National Crime Records Bureau, 29,000 cases of violence against women were recorded in the past year. West Bengal registered the highest number of such cases in 2011.