Sandeshkhali Case: Woman Withdraws Rape Complaint Against TMC Leaders, Says ‘BJP Forced Me To Sign Blank Papers’

A woman woman from Sandeshkhali withdrew her rape complaint against Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders. On Wednesday, she said BJP workers forced her to sign on a blank sheet of papers.

According to the Telegraph report, the woman in February was asked to sign on a blank sheet of papers in front of the National Commission for Women (NCW) team on the orders of local BJP workers, which she later learnt was a rape complaint, although she had not been raped.

The woman further said that the entire episode of Sandeskhali was planned by the BJP to attack the TMC during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. She said that she came to know that she had signed a rape complaint when the police came to her house to probe the case against the TMC leader after 5 to 6 days later and took her to the court to record her statement.

Also Read | Lok Sabha Election 2024: TMC Lodges Complaint Against Suvendu Adhikari and Others Over Sandeshkhali ‘Sting Video’.

Woman said that she joined the Sandeshkhali protest in February as Sheikh Shahjahan and his men had not paid her houseold works. Around the same time, a few local BJP workers spoke to her, including one Piyali Das. “They took me before the members of NCW and asked me to sign on a piece of white paper. I came home after signing on the blank sheet like they said,” she told reporters, reported by the Telegraph.

“A few days later, when the police came to my home, I came to know that it was a complaint of rape that did not happen to me. I was forced to appear before the magistrate to record my statement. I said I was not raped,” she added.

#WATCH | On Sandeshkhali incident, TMC leader Shashi Panja says, "...The women are now saying that they were asked to write (in the complaint) a lie. The women want to take back their complaints because it is not true...Suvendu Adhikari had a meeting in Bankura yesterday. During… pic.twitter.com/94n067rsk9

— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2024

"The women are now saying that they were asked to write (in the complaint) a lie. The women want to take back their complaints because it is not true...Suvendu Adhikari had a meeting in Bankura yesterday. During this, women workers of Trinamool raised some slogans and Suvendu Adhikari, influenced by this abused them," said TMC leader Shashi Panja.

Recently, TMC released a video that appears to show a local BJP leader admitting that women in Sandeshkhali were given Rs 2,000 each to file rape and sexual abuse complaints on BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s instructions.