The Sandeshkhali row that made headlines for a couple of months this year over allegations of sexual harassment and land grab by Shahjahan Sheikh and his aides is again in the news but for something completely unprecedented. Now, two women who had filed a complaint against the strongman of TMC, have erupted to withdraw the complaint because they didn’t file it in the first place.
Days after the purported video of a sting operation leaked on social media in which a BJP worker (mandal president) Gangadhar Kayal nodded that Suvendu Adhikari conspired the entire Sandeshkhali ordeal, these women have come up to state that they had never filed any complaint.
While the BJP calls the video doctored, the TMC claims that it has exposed the BJP’s conspiracy.
The women have instead filed another complaint citing threat and ostracism for withdrawing their previous complaint against the TMC workers. As per their recorded statement before the magistrate, they said they don’t wish to be associated with any false complaint. They see different behaviour towards themselves after the complaint against TMC workers, and nobody among the neighbours is talking to them. They added that they went to revoke the complaint only to be chased away.
One of the two women claimed that two women, Piyali Das and Mampi Das, came to their home and took her mother-in-law to the police station where the latter mentioned that the payment for her cooking as part of the 100-day job scheme stands due. It was then that they asked her to sign on a white paper.
They later on found their names on the list of women who had alleged rape by the local leaders of TMC including aides of Shahjahan Sheikh. “Nothing such happened to us. It was scripted, false allegations.”
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The Sandeshkhali row came to light after dozens of women protested against TMC leader Shahjahah Sheikh and his aides alleging molestation, sexual harassment and land grabbing. BJP took this matter heavily ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
