Monday, May 20

“BJP Forced Me To Sign Blank Papers”: Sandeshkhali Woman Withdraws Rape Charges Against TMC Men

Edited by Aishwarya Krishnan
‘BJP Forced Me To Sign Blank Papers’: Sandeshkhali Woman Withdraws Rape Charges Against TMC Men (image-screengrab/NilanjanDasAITC)

On Thursday, one of the three women from Sandeshkhali withdrew the rape charges she had previously made against Trinamool Congress (TMC) men, citing coercion by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members.

According to reports by NDTV and the Times of India, the woman claimed that the BJP forced her to sign blank papers under the guise of enlisting her name for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). Later, she was taken to the police station to file a complaint of sexual abuse, which she now asserts never occurred inside the Trinamool office.

“There was no sexual assault on me inside the Trinamool office. I was never forced to go to the party office late at night,” said the woman, quoted by TOI.

Another woman has filed a fresh complaint at the Sandeshkhali police station, highlighting threats and social ostracism following her decision to retract the false charges.

Rekha Patra, BJP’s candidate from Basirhat, alleged that the party leaders took the alleged sexual assault victims to meet President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Dr. Shashi Panja, state minister for Women and Child Development and Social Welfare accused the BJP of orchestrating “the drame and now they are threating the women, who had gone to withdraw false complaints.” She also stated that according to TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, more “doctored” videos by the BJP will surface in the coming days.

In an X (formerly Twitter) post, the official TMC handle asked, “Will @BJP4Bengal now discredit the voices of Bengal’s women, narrating how they were coerced to file fake rape/molestation complaints? PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah – No matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to stop the wave of truth that is rising in Bengal to wash away all the Bangla-Birodhi forces!”

This development unfolds amidst controversy surrounding a sting operation video, where a man alleged to be a BJP Mandal president named Gangadhar Koyal stated that the Sandeshkhali women were projected as ‘rape’ victims at the behest of the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, in the “conspiracy.”

Responding to the same, the TMC has filed a complaint with the Election Commission against Suvendu Adhikari and others involved in the Sandeshkhali case. State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee denounced the BJP’s alleged blatant lies to plot a conspiracy and warned against disrespecting the women of Bengal.

Meanwhile, West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar dismissed the sting operation video as ‘fake’ and suspected the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in its creation. He questioned the timing of the video’s release, claiming it was an attempt by the TMC to absolve its suspended leader, Shajahan Sheikh, who is currently in jail in connection with an attack on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team.

Sheikh was accused of various offenses, including “land-grab and sexual assault,” by multiple women under coercion.