New Delhi, May 9: The Trinamool Congress on Thursday lodged a complaint to the Election Commission against the Leader of Opposition in West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, and others over the Sandeshkhali issue. The TMC has filed a complaint after leaders confessed on camera that the Sandeshkhali rape accusations were concocted.
Earlier, TMC held a protest march in Sandeshkhali's Trimohini area against the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) alleged conspiracy against women in the riverine island after a sting operation revealed that the BJP was involved in scripting the entire incident.
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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday warned the BJP not to disrespect the mothers of Bengal, as once the self-respect of women is lost it cannot be regained. On Saturday, a video of a sting operation surfaced that has stirred up controversy in Sandeshkhali which was broadcast by a local television channel. In the alleged video, a person, purportedly a BJP Mandal (booth) president named Gangadhar Koyal is heard saying that Sandeshkhali women, who weren't sexually assaulted, were projected as 'rape' victims at the behest of the LoP.
Claiming that Suvendu 'helped' him get this done, the person in the video said that the former told him that the TMC's strongmen in the area wouldn't be arrested unless he is falsely implicated in a "rape case". However, the news channel that broke the alleged sting operation did not check the veracity of the clip.
Also Read | Sandeshkhali agitation was BJP’s ploy to win elections in Bengal: Mamata Banerjee.
Shahjahan, the key Sandeshkhali accused, is currently behind bars in connection with the attack on a team of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) while it was in the process of raiding his residence in connection with the alleged ration scam.
The women of Sandeshkhali in the North 24 Parganas district came out on the streets earlier against the ruling TMC and Shahjahan, accusing the strongman and his aides of perpetrating gross excesses and atrocities on them while also gobbling up their land. Multiple women on the island accused Shajahan and his aides of "land-grab and sexual assault" under coercion.