After TMC MLA's letter, Centre asks Bengal to probe sex assault charge against LoP
TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh said he had written to Amit Shah seeking action against LoP Ritabrata Banerjee in an old case where a woman had accused him of sexual assault and exploitation on the pretext of marriage.
The Union Home Ministry has asked the West Bengal government to examine the explosive sexual misconduct allegations made by TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh against Leader of Opposition (LoP) and rebel party leader Ritabrata Banerjee. Sharing the Home Ministry's directive to the government, Ghosh said he had written to Amit Shah seeking action against Ritabrata in an old case where a woman had accused him of sexual assault and exploitation on the pretext of marriage.
"It is requested that the matter may please be looked into appropriately and a reply may please be sent to the MLA (Kunal Ghosh)," the Home Minister's letter to the Bengal chief secretary said.
WHAT IS THE ALLEGATION AGAINST RITABRATA BANERJEE?
The case dates back to 2017, when a 30-year-old woman accused Ritabrata of sexual assault and exploitation. She even posted their intimate photos and tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then CM Mamata Banerjee and the then Women and Child Welfare Minister Maneka Gandhi. A complaint was also filed at the Balurghat police station.
Ritabrata, who was expelled by the CPM just two months back, had then called the accusations politically motivated. While Ritabrata was questioned by the Bengal CID, the case fizzled out after he joined the Trinamool in 2018.
However, Ritabrata, along with 59 others, rebelled against Mamata Banerjee after the TMC's loss in the Bengal elections this year. The Speaker eventually went on to recognise Ritabrata as the Leader of the Opposition despite protests by the Mamata faction.
In his letter to Amit Shah, Ghosh urged the Home Minister to remove Ritabrata as LoP, ask the state police to reopen the investigation into the allegations by the woman and probe whether he used political connections to influence or suppress the case.
"It needs to be examined what happened to the woman. I hope the state government will not try to shield Ritabrata Banerjee. I will take appropriate action against any officer who tries to cover it up," Ghosh tweeted.
"Ritabrata will now go to Delhi under some other pretext and lick the boots of BJP leaders to manage the situation," he further said.