In a surprising twist of events, a woman from Sandeshkhali has come forward claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) BJP forced her to sign a blank paper during their visit to the village. This came after many women accused TMC leader Shahjahan Shiekh and his men of molestation and rape.
Later, she was shocked to find out she was one of the many women who had accused Sheikh of rape.
The woman said that she was approached by Piyali, a member of the National Commission for Women. “I told them that we had not received money as part of the 100 days job scheme. I only wanted that money and had no other complaint. No rape happened. She (Piyali) made us sign on a blank sheet,” NDTV quoted the woman.
Days later, she reportedly came to know that her name featured in the list of women from Sandeshkhali who accused Sheikh and his men of rape.The woman’s daughters-in-law has accused Piyali of cheating. They say Piyali belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party, the main opposition party in West Bengal.
“She is an outsider, she has come from somewhere else and talks big. We don’t know how she has information about everyone here. Initially, she would just take part in the protests here. We later came to know she is with the BJP. She should be punished for lying to us and trapping us. I’m sure more people were deceived like this,” they were quoted by NDTV.
On May 5, tables turned for the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), which for months found itself in the embroiled in rape charges against one of its leaders. A video emerged on the social media platform YouTube showing Gangadhar Koyal, BJP’s Mandal president for Sandeshkhali Block II, saying that the sexual harassment complaints were filed at the behest of Adhikari.
Here is the video.
The local BJP leader was also heard saying that Nandigram MLA “Adhikari himself had planted guns at a house in Sandeshkhali, which was later shown as the seizure by central agencies”.
West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, meanwhile, alleged that the ‘sting operation’ was “fake” and suspected that it was made using artificial intelligence (AI).
Though the TMC denies claiming responsibility for uploading the video on YouTube, it has approached the Election Commission and lodged a complaint against Adhikari and others. TMC claims that the saffron party leader has “confessed” on camera that the rape accusations in the Sandeshkhali incident were concocted, PTI reported.
The Sandeshkhali violence was exposed after several women accused TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his men of land grab, sexual harassment and rape.
On February 7, local women staged a protest outside the Sandeshkhali police station demanding action against Sheikh and his accomplices. Angry villagers set nearby houses on fire. Fifteen people were arrested. Following the violence, internet services were shut down and Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) was imposed in the village in North 24 Parganas district.
