In a fresh turn of events, two women in Sandeshkhali have withdrawn their rape complaint against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shahjahan Sheikh, alleging that they were made to sign a “blank paper” at the behest of the National Commission for Women (NCW).
This development has intensified the political slugfest between the ruling TMC and the BJP, which has been raking up the Sandeshkhali issue in the ongoing election season.
Addressing the media, the woman narrated how she and her mother-in-law were forced to file fake rape complaints without even knowing the contents of the complaint at the behest of “Delhi’s Mahila Commission”.
She said that the day a team of the NCW visited the island, a woman named Piyali called them to share their complaints.
“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 paper,” the woman said, adding that she later came to know that she is on the list of women who alleged rape by local Trinamool leaders, according to media reports.
The woman’s mother-in-law accused Piyali of defaming Sandeshkhali. “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,” she said, NDTV reported.
The women lodged a fresh complaint at Sandeshkhali police station, citing threats and social ostracism resulting from their decision to withdraw the purportedly false rape allegation, a Times of India (TOI) report stated.
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On Wednesday, the woman and her mother-in-law recorded their statement before the magistrate. “We don’t want to be associated with any false complaints… nobody is even talking to us in our neighbourhood. When I asked them to rescind the false complaint, I was chased away,” she said.
Sandeshkhali violence
Sandeshkhali made headlines earlier this year after several women held massive protests against Trinamool strongman Shahjahan Sheikh and his aides, accusing them of land grab and sexual harassment.
Shahjahan, now expelled by the Trinamool Congress, was arrested after he was on the run for over a month in a case relating to a mob attack on Enforcement Directorate officials probing him. He is now in the CBI’s custody.
However, in a twist in the Sandeskhali row last week, a video of a local BJP leader started doing the rounds. The ‘sting operation’, by a local channel, showed Gangadhar Koyal purportedly admitting that no rapes or sexual harassment took place in Sandeshkhali and that women were convinced to file such complaints at the directions of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari.
On Thursday, the ruling TMC said it would lodge a complaint with the Election Commission against BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari and others, claiming that a BJP leader had “confessed” on camera that the rape accusations in Sandeshkhali were concocted, PTI reported.