Kolkata: A week after an office employee accused West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose of molesting her, the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata on Thursday released relevant CCTV footage.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to visit Kolkata and spend the night at Raj Bhavan on May 2 for his next days’ rallies, following which security was beefed up at Raj Bhavan. For most of the CCTV footage, dozens of policemen could be seen posted at the North Gate.
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The 69-minute long footage captured by two CCTV cameras installed at the North Gate showed the woman, a contractual employee who accused Bose of molestation, approaching policemen at the police outpost near the North Gate of Raj Bhavan around 5:33pm on May 2.
In her written complaint to the Hare Street police station, the woman alleged the governor sexually harassed her, first on March 24 and later on May 2, who summoned her to his chamber on the pretext of offering her a permanent job.
The next day, the Kolkata Police set up an enquiry team to probe the allegations.
Police said they have sought CCTV footage from Raj Bhavan and would also speak to some of the staff at Raj Bhavan. “We haven’t received the footage yet,” said a senior officer.
On May 5, Bose asked the staff at Raj Bhavan to ignore the police inquiry, citing Article 361 of the Constitution, according to which “no criminal proceedings can be initiated against the President and the Governor of a state as long as they are in office”.
On Wednesday (May 8), however, the Raj Bhavan stated that the Bengal governor had decided to air the relevant CCTV footage to 100 citizens, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee or the police excluded, inside Raj Bhavan premises on Thursday.
“Governor CV Ananda Bose has launched a program Sach Ke Saamne in the background of the mischievous and fabricated allegations by the police that Raj Bhavan is not sharing the CCTV footage of an incident which is under the illegal and unconstitutional investigation of the police,” the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata posted on X handle on Wednesday.
The post also said that anyone who wants to see the footage can send a mail to Raj Bhavan and that the first 100 to do so would be invited for the screening at 11.30am on Thursday inside Raj Bhavan.
Even though Raj Bhavan officials said that they received more than 80 calls from citizens who were willing to see the footage, including housewives, tax consultants, medical professionals, professors and retired government officials, the screening was attended mostly by media personnel sans any television cameras even though mobile cameras were allowed.
“The complaint is not considered a victim until the police register an FIR [first information report]. In this case, the police can’t lodge a case. Article 361 of the Constitution says that no criminal proceedings can be initiated against the President and the governor of a state as long as they are in office. So, the complainant can’t be considered a victim yet,” said Jayanta Narayan Chatterjee, Calcutta high court advocate when asked whether footage of a sexual assault can be released.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) took a jibe at Bose, saying that the Raj Bhavan shared irrelevant footage as the complainant herself has stated that she approached the police at Raj Bhavan.
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“West Bengal has a population of more than 100 million. The footage was shared with only 100. He [Bose] has refused to share it with the police though. The CCTV footage showed that the woman approached the police at the North Gate. How relevant is this? She has already said that she approached the police who helped her to lodge the complaint,” Chandrima Bhattacharya, state finance minister, told media.
“The CCTV footage showed that I approached the police at the North Gate. This is laughable. Even if the CCTV footage of the ground floor were released it would show that I am crying. I am a common citizen, and he is the governor. He should allow the police to probe,” the complainant, speaking to media persons, said.
Bose has refuted the allegations, attributing them to political motives. He said he would not yield to orchestrated narratives.
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