Will not be ‘cowed by engineered narratives’, says Bengal guv

KOLKATA: A

Raj Bhavan

employee on Thursday evening filed a complaint of

molestation

against

Bengal governor

C V Ananda Bose, introducing an element of the unprecedented in state politics and pitting the Trinamool govt and the governor’s office in direct conflict in the middle of a seven-phase election season, report Tamaghna Banerjee and Dwaipayan Ghosh.

The

woman

, according to Raj Bhavan insiders, works in the telephone room and stays at the residential quarters on the campus. She first went to the Raj Bhavan police outpost before 7pm Thursday, from where she was taken to Hare Street police station.
The governor issued a statement a couple of hours later, saying he would not be “cowed by engineered narratives”.
The woman’s complaint to cops mentions two incidents. It says that Bose asked her on April 19 to meet him with her CV. She went to meet him on April 24 at 12.45pm, when he “touched her inappropriately and made untoward advances”, the complaint says. Bose again called her to his office on Thursday but the woman, instead of going alone, asked her supervisor to accompany her. The woman told cops that Bose asked the supervisor to leave after some time, following which he assured her of a promotion and then “touched her cheek”, prompting her to protest.

A video in circulation since the evening shows the woman complaining to a senior cop that she had been molested. “This is not the first time that this has happened to me,” she is heard saying on phone before explaining why she had not complained earlier: “I had kept quiet as I was scared of losing my (contractual) job.” She said she felt impelled to complain on Thursday, after the latest incident, to protect others from facing the ordeal she had faced. She is also seen referring to another woman who made similar complaints in the past.

Senior cops later told TOI they had recorded the woman’s statement but did not register any FIR. “Article 361 of the Constitution insulates the governor from any criminal proceeding while in office,” a senior official explained, adding that legal experts would be consulted on Friday.
In its first statement, Raj Bhavan said: “Truth shall triumph. I refuse to be cowed by engineered narratives. If anybody wants some election benefits by maligning me, God bless them. But they cannot stop my fight against corruption and violence in Bengal.” Another statement issued a little later thanked Raj Bhavan staff “who expressed solidarity against derogatory narratives circulated by two disgruntled employees as political parties’ agents”.
A third release issued after 10pm banned the entry of cops and Bengal finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya in Raj Bhavan premises. The statement said cops have been banned to prevent their entry “in the guise of conducting unauthorised, illegitimate, sham and motivated investigations to placate political bosses during election”. The minister’s entry is banned in Raj Bhavan premises in Kolkata, Darjeeling and Barrackpore, but no reason has been attributed.
The governor would not attend any finance department event, the statement said, adding that the attorney-general would be consulted for legal steps against Bhattacharya.
Before the release of Raj Bhavan order banning her entry, Bhattacharya had condemned “the alleged misconduct by the governor”, which she called “unbecoming of any official, especially the head of State”. She demanded an immediate and a “thorough investigation”.
PM Modi reached Raj Bhavan around 10pm, where he stayed the night. He is slated to leave Raj Bhavan Friday morning for campaigning in East Burdwan, Nadia and Birbhum.
Earlier, Trinamool launched a blistering attack on Bose on X: “Appalling and unthinkable! The sanctity of Raj Bhavan, a symbol of our constitutionality, has been tarnished. Hours before the PM was supposed to arrive at Raj Bhavan to spend the night, a woman was allegedly molested by the governor under the false pretext of a job. Such despicable behaviour must be condemned in the strongest terms. Justice must be delivered swiftly for the victim, no excuses, no delays!”