NEW DELHI — Six people have been arrested as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters stripped a woman naked and paraded her for about 300 meters in the Nandigram town of West Bengal last week.

Among those arrested is Tapas Das, the BJP’s booth president. The arrests have added to the BJP’s embarrassment, especially as the party intensifies its criticism of the state government over a separate incident at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata.

The humiliating incident of stripping the woman, being attributed to both a personal dispute and political retribution, has sparked outrage and fear in the region, reports reaching here said on Friday.

According to locals, the assault has its origin in a long-standing dispute between two neighbours over water drainage issues. However, the political dimension of the incident has come to the forefront as the assaulted woman’s family had recently switched allegiance from the BJP to the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

“I used to be with the BJP, but recently joined the TMC, which is why I was attacked,” the victim was quoted by The Wire as saying.

TMC leaders have condemned the incident, describing it as an act of political vengeance. “Since the family supports the TMC, the BJP committed this atrocity against the woman out of political vengeance. This incident is utterly shameful,” party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh has said.

The TMC has arranged for the woman to be taken to Kolkata for medical care, while a delegation of eight TMC members visited Nandigram on Sunday to meet with the victim and assess the situation.

The incident has intensified fear in the locality, which is known as a BJP stronghold. Many residents are reportedly unwilling to speak to the media due to concerns over their safety.

The BJP has attempted to downplay the political angle of the attack. BJP district council leader Bamdeb Guchait described the incident as “shameful” but insisted, “Although those accused are our supporters, they are not party leaders or workers. Therefore, portraying this as a politically motivated act by our party is propaganda.”

Former BJP MP Locket Chatterjee commented on the situation, stating, “No crime has a colour, and those responsible for this in Nandigram must be punished. However, violence against women has become a common occurrence in West Bengal. The chief minister is marching on the streets, demanding justice against her own government to cover up the RG Kar Hospital incident – there can be no greater shame.”

Gender activist Satabdi Das also condemned the incident, linking it to the BJP’s broader history of misogyny. “It’s shocking! Here we are fighting so that women stay secure, and in Nandigram, a woman became a soft target only because she was a member of the ruling party! We are fighting against patriarchy and the state, not any individual. But BJP itself is such a misogynist party with a history of Unnao and Kathua that it can hardly understand the spirit of this movement,” reports quoted Das as saying.