In a shocking twist in the alleged Sandeshkhali sexual assault case, one of the victims alleged that people linked with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made her sign a blank paper, which falsely accused TMC men of raping her. The woman withdrew the rape complaint.
According to TOI, the woman lodged a fresh complaint at Sandeshkhali police station against threats and social ostracism after she withdrew the rape case against TMC workers.
The woman’s accusation triggered a fierce political debate between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP, who were already at loggerheads due to the incident of violence against women in Bengal’s Sandeskhali, allegedly perpetrated by TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his associates.
Speaking to the media, the woman alleged that she and other women just wanted to complain about not receiving money as part of the 100 days’ MGNREGA job scheme but they were told to sign a blank paper, which stated they were sexually assaulted.
“The day Mahila Commission had come to the police station, the same day Piyali had called us to share our complaints [with the commission]. I told them that we hadn’t received the money for the job card [MGNREGA] and cooking. We only wanted that money and had no other complaints,” she alleged.
“Nothing such as rape happened to us. We are not involved in those things. We are poor people and we work hard to earn a living. Mampi trapped us by getting us to sign on a white paper. We want her to be punished and want to be relieved of this issue,” she added.
Meanwhile, the TMC, which was on the back foot after local party leaders were accused of rape, land grab and extortion, is now attempting to capitalise on the woman’s allegations and accused the BJP of creating false stories to defame the ruling party for political gain.
Earlier, the TMC sources said it will lodge a complaint with the EC against BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari and others, claiming that a saffron party leader has “confessed” on camera that the rape accusations in the Sandeshkhali incident were concocted.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) will submit a letter to the Election Commission (EC)later in the day, they said.
Meanwhile, the Congress party also stepped in and suggested that the matter should be discussed taking into account the recent events and new allegations against the BJP.
“There were hundreds of debates on the direction of the ruling party on Sandeshkhali. Now that the complainant has exposed the role of the BJP, will this be debated too?” the Congress said.
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