Woman staffer who accused Bengal Governor of molestation to write to President

A contractual woman employee of the governor's house in West Bengal, who accused Governor CV Ananda Bose of molestation, today said she would write to President Droupadi Murmu requesting her intervention in the matter.

This comes a day after the Governor screened multiple CCTV footage of Raj Bhavan, in a bid to clear the air over allegations of molestation brought against him.

However, the woman alleged the Governor had committed "a new crime" by screening the unedited footage of her identity, since her face wasn't blurred in the video.

Stating that she could not repose much hope in the Kolkata Police, whose hands are tied on account of the Constitutional immunity Governor Bose enjoys, the victim said she was going through severe depression and felt that writing to the President was the only recourse to justice.

"I know that because of Constitutional immunity, nothing will happen to a sitting Governor. But what about the offence he committed? I have decided to write to the President seeking her intervention in the matter. I am writing to her to get justice and nothing else," the victim told news agency PTI.

She also said she would approach the police against the Governor revealing her identity through the video.

Earlier, the Kolkata Police had confirmed that it would conduct an 'enquiry' instead of a full-fledged investigation which requires the filing of a First Information Report (FIR) since the Governor is protected under Clause 2 of Article 361 of the Constitution, which grants him total immunity from criminal proceedings of any kind.

The woman had on Friday lodged a complaint with Kolkata Police alleging that she was molested by Bose in the governor's house on April 24 and May 2.

Footage from two CCTV cameras positioned at the main (north) gate, spanning from 5.32 pm to 6.41 pm on May 2, was shown to a select group of people and journalists at the Central Marble Hall on the ground floor of Raj Bhavan.

In the first footage, the employee, dressed in jeans and a top, was seen hurrying to the police outpost housed within the governor's house amidst a significant number of police personnel who were deployed on the premises for the scheduled visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on that day.

The second footage, which lasted for around 10 minutes, showed various vehicles, including fire tenders, arriving at the north gate of Raj Bhavan and policemen lining up for their regular duties.

The victim, however, could not be spotted.