Landlord allegedly attacks same-sex couple with a wooden plank in India
The couple claim they were harassed since the landlord found out their sexuality
By Steve Brown
A landlord allegedly attacked a same-sex couple in India with a wooden plank while hurling abuse at them.
The couple – Swapan Biswas and Bikash Das – rented a property in West Bengal and they filed a complaint with police and stated that the owner of the property beat Das with a wooden plank while hurling abuse at them.
Das received a blow to the jaw and hand and the couple decided to leave their home the next day.
The Hindustan Times reported that their sexuality was not mentioned in the complaint and the couple said if they mentioned it they wouldn’t be taken seriously.
They said: “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.”
However, the wife of the landlord denied the attack and said that the couple would often get drunk and disturb the peace of the house.
After moving into the rent property 19 months ago, the couple claim that the landlord and his family started to harass them when they found out about their sexuality.
They said: “We were constantly taunted. They used to call me a hijra [the name for India’s third gender] and targeted me with expletives.”