“Our Internal Complaint Committee is investigating the matter. Before the committee submits its report, no one should comment on this matter. We are also requesting our supporters to refrain from commenting on this on social media,” the CPI(M) in a statement to its party worker said on Tuesday, adding “whatever there is to say was mentioned by our state secretary Md Salim in his press conference”.
Hours after the woman journalist on Facebook Live accused the 66-year-old former MLA of making improper advances and sexually harassing her when she visited his Baranagar residence last Sunday, the CPI(M) suspended Bhattacharya from the party, pending inquiry.
Later, police booked the CPI(M) leader under sections 74 (use of criminal force or assault against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty) and 75(2) (sexual harassment) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and questioned him for three hours at Baranagar Police Station on Monday.
Bhattacharya, who represented Dum Dum North constituency between 2001 and 2006, has termed the allegations “false and baseless”, and said the woman journalist had visited his residence on several occasions in the past.
“The young woman had come to my place around 10 am (Sunday). She interviewed me for about 20-22 minutes. She had come to my house several times before. She has alleged that I had physically assaulted her earlier as well. But she never mentioned it to her channel’s editor. She could have refused to interview me,” Bhattacharya told mediapersons after he was questioned by police on Monday.
Announcing Bhattacharya’s suspension, Salim had said: “In today’s scenario, one should sensitise themselves to what good touch is and what bad touch is… women are very cautious about that. We deal with allegations like these with utmost importance. We have an internal complaint committee, and they have a procedure. That will take time. But what Tanmay (Bhattacharya) did… the party can’t support such behaviour. We are not used to treating such behaviour with mercy. But such a process takes time. So, we first suspended him. We will share more details later.”
Meanwhile, reacting to his suspension from the party within hours of the surfacing of sexual harassment charges, Bhattacharya said: “If the party believes that a complaint from a woman automatically warrants suspension, then the party leadership has done the right thing. Tomorrow, if any other woman complains against someone else, they will be suspended too. If the party acts in the same manner, then I have nothing to say. I had hoped that the party would have listened to me before taking the decision (to suspend me).”