The move came after a Sandeshkhali woman allegedly stated that she had been made to sign on a blank sheet of paper which later was claimed to be a rape complaint. This was after Rekha Sharma complained to the poll panel that women in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali area were being coerced to withdraw their complaints of sexual harassment.
“NCW Chairperson has sent a letter to the Election Commission of India regarding the Sandeshkali case. It has come to the notice of the Commission that the women in Sandeshkhali are being influenced, threatened and pressurised to withdraw the complaint in the middle of general elections 2024. @sharmarekha formally requests @ECISVEEP to look into the matter…” Sharma wrote on her X handle on May 10.
In the letter, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, the TMC wrote ‘…An interview of a woman from Sandeshkhali was shared on ‘X’ platform on 10.05.24, which reveals that Smt. Rekha Sharma, Chairperson of the NCW, along with members/leaders of the BJP… have committed serious offences of forgery, cheating, fraud, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy by exploiting innocent women of Sandeshkhali, for political gains…”
“During the interview, a lady from Sandeshkhali…stated that she was coerced through threats of violence by Smt. Rekha Sharma and…others to sign a blank paper without knowing its purpose. Later, when the police issued her a notice, she learnt that she had been made a de-facto complainant in a rape case. She realized that her signature was used to file a false rape complaint without her consent…,” the letter read.
“The exploitation of institutions like the NCW by BJP for partisan purposes is a flagrant abuse of power and a betrayal of the principles of democracy…” the letter added.
“1. Strict direction(s) to respective Station House Officers’ of competent police stations to initiate criminal proceedings against Smt. Rekha Sharma…other unknown BJP leaders for their role in the commission of the aforesaid offences…;
2. Direction(s) restraining the BJP and its leaders/members/candidates/workers from threatening the women of Sandeshkhali who wish to withdraw false complaint lodged at their instance;
3. Direction(s) restraining the BJP and its leaders from making any further false allegations concerning the Sandeshkhali incident, as the evidence shows that they were spreading orchestrated/manufactured and unverified allegations against AITC and its leaders;”
On January 5, officials of the Enforcement Directorate were assaulted while they raided the home of TMC strongman and North 24 Parganas zilla parishad member Sheikh Shahjahan in Sandeshkhali.
While Shahjahan was absconding, women in Sandeshkhali started protesting and came out with allegations of sexual assault and land grabbing against a section of TMC leaders. While the other accused TMC leaders were arrested first, Shahjahan was arrested by police on February 29. The cases are being probed by the CBI after a direction from the Calcutta High Court.