Birbhum (West Bengal) [India], May 12 (ANI): Amid Trinamool Congress claims on the sting operation video over the Sandeshkhali case, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha has said that Sandeshkhali is the tip of the iceberg and incidents like these are happening in West Bengal.
Earlier, multiple women in Sandeshkhali had accused former TMC strongman Sheikh Shajahan and his aides of "land-grab and sexual assault" under coercion. Shahjahan, the key Sandeshkhali accused, is currently behind bars in connection with the attack on a team of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED).
"Sandeshkhali is sending a 'sandesh' to West Bengal that things like this should not happen. Sandeshkhali is the tip of the iceberg and incidents like these are happening in West Bengal. Everyone knows where the arms and ammunition are coming from. Cash in huge amounts has been found in the residences of leaders and ministers. 'Vote ka count khatam ho jata hai lekin note ka khatam nahin hota hai'. Many of their ministers are in jail. They are doing all this to confuse people," CM Saha said.
Tripura CM held a roadshow in West Bengal's Birbhum Lok Sabha seat for BJP candidate Debtanu Bhattacharya.
Earlier, BJP West Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar said that the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) will be bringing up several such videos to mislead people.
"The TMC will bring up several such videos now to mislead people. Statements were recorded under Section 164 on the Sandeshkhali issue. The Police which comes under the state government did that. Section 164 is recorded before a Class One Magistrate and you cannot step back from it. You have given your statement in front of the Magistrate. If this was false, why did the Police record statement under Section 164? You should not have done that. You said that you are returning land but also claiming that land was not grabbed," Majumdar said speaking to ANI on Friday.
Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure covers the recording of statements and confessions by a judicial magistrate or metropolitan magistrate.
On Saturday, a video of a sting operation surfaced that has stirred up controversy in Sandeshkhali which was broadcast by a local television channel. In the alleged video, a person, purportedly a BJP Mandal (booth) president named Gangadhar Koyal is heard saying that Sandeshkhali women, who weren't sexually assaulted, were projected as 'rape' victims at the behest of the LoP.
Claiming that Suvendu 'helped' him get this done, the person in the video said that the former told him that the TMC's strongmen in the area wouldn't be arrested unless he is falsely implicated in a "rape case".
However, the news channel that broke the alleged sting operation did not check the veracity of the clip. (ANI)
