Sources said they allegedly stopped the woman in Raj Bhavan lobby while she was going to file a complaint. They were booked under IPC sections 344 (wrongful confinement) and 166 (public servant disobeying law), police said.
In May, the woman had filed a complaint where she had said she works at the Raj Bhavan. In her complaint, she said: “On 19.4.24, Governor sir told me to take some time out and to meet him with my CV. On 24.04.2024, at around 12.45 pm, he called me to his office room and, after some discussion, touched me. I somehow managed to leave the office room. He called me once again today, 02.05.2024. I took my supervisor… to the conference room as I was scared. After talking for a while about work, he asked the supervisor to leave. He prolonged the conversation by talking about my promotion. He said he will call me at night and asked me not to tell anyone. When I refused, he tried to touch me. I protested and left.”
Governor Bose has maintained the charges are “engineered narratives” meant to “stop my fight against corruption and violence in Bengal”.
On May 9, the Raj Bhavan showed the CCTV footage of the premises from May 2 – the day of the alleged incident – to around 100 people. Owing to the immunity that the Governor enjoys under Article 361 of the Constitution, no criminal proceedings can be instituted against Bose during his term in office.
Police have formed an eight-member special inquiry team, led by Deputy Commissioner (Central) Indira Mukherjee, to probe the allegations.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress on Friday demonstrated near Raj Bhavan here over the allegation of molestation against West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose, demanding his resignation.
The protestors, who included members of the TMC affiliated West Bengal College and University Professors Association (WBCUPA), held placards and shouted slogans, as the police stopped them from advancing towards the Governor’s House.
“It is shameful that he is still sticking to the chair when more than one woman, including a female staff of Raj Bhavan, levelled serious charges against him,” a WBCUPA office-bearer said.
In a police complaint, a woman contractual employee of Raj Bhavan last week accused the governor of molesting her.
Earlier this week, the police also submitted a report to the state secretariat about the complaint filed by a classical dancer that Bose had sexually harassed her at a posh hotel in New Delhi in 2023.
Former state West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights Chairperson and film-maker Sudeshna Roy, who also walked in the rally, said “I am here to express solidarity with the women. He is not allowing any investigation as his is a constitutional post. But such a post does not guarantee him immunity as an individual from being probed into the charges.”
Article to Art 361(2) of the Constitution, a criminal case cannot be initiated against the President and Governor in a court of law.
— WITH PTI INPUTS