2nd woman denies rape, says made to sign on blank paper

SANDESHKHALI: Two more videos - both bites given to TV channels - have emerged out of Sandeshkhali, giving fresh life to the Trinamool charge that the entire controversy is a "BJP narrative engineered for political purposes".
The first video to emerge on Thursday shows Basirhat BJP candidate Rekha Patra questioning the identities of the "rape survivors" who were taken to Delhi by BJP functionaries to meet President Murmu."We are the real survivors, who are they?" she asks in what seems to be an old interview given to TV channels before she became BJP candidate from Basirhat (Sandeshkhali is a part of the constituency).
The second is of a Sandeshkhali "rape survivor" telling the media that she was made to sign on a blank piece of paper by BJP functionaries and she never went to the police station to lodge any complaint. "There was no rape," she told reporters.
Thursday's developments follow two earlier videos - one a sting operation and the other an interview given to news channels - that have been highlighted by Trinamool to show how Bengal BJP seniors, including assembly opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari, instigated several women in Sandeshkhali to file complaints of rape.
The first of the four videos came last week; it was a sting operation showing BJP Sandeshkhali Block-II chief Gangadhar Koyal admitting that the entire "Sandeshkhali movement" was Adhikari's brainchild and the women (the complainants) did what they were told to do. The second video - an interview given to TV channels on Wednesday - showed one "rape survivor" saying there was no sexual abuse and she was made to sign a blank piece of paper by BJP leaders.
On Thursday, the second "rape survivor" told reporters that BJP worker Piyali Das (aka Mampi Das) had taken her and some others to meet a visiting NCW team. "We told them we would be happy if we were given our NREGA dues and the money we were promised for cooking for them (Trinamool leaders)," she said.
In one of the two videos that emerged on Thursday, the second of the three "rape survivors" tells reporters in an interview that there was no rape. "We were given a blank paper and asked to sign. We went home after that. Four-five days later we got a notice from the police station. It was then that we came to know that we had filed a rape complaint. This is a total lie. Nothing of this sort happened," she says on camera.
Another woman, too, tells the channels that she never knew their names "were given in the fake rape complaints". "We only wanted the money (promised for cooking for TMC netas) and had no other complaint. Nothing like rape happened with us. We are not involved in those things. We are poor people and we work hard to earn a living," she adds.
Three women were Sandeshkhali's original complainants who, BJP functionaries claimed, had gone to cops alleging rape. Two of the three have now told the media that they never filed rape complaints. Rekha Patra's old interview, which surfaced on Thursday, referred to the developments of March 11. Eleven people from Sandeshkhali, including five women, met President Murmu in Delhi that day. In that interview, which Patra gave before becoming a BJP candidate, she is seen saying: "We are the real victims, we are still in Sandeshkhali. Then who are they, those who were taken to Delhi to meet Rashtrapati Madam? We think some women were paid to impersonate victims and taken to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Nobody even informed us before the meeting."
Two other women, including local BJP worker Piyali (implicated on Thursday by other women), spoke to the media in that interview. "We came to know only from the media that some women were taken to Delhi to meet the president. Anup Das (another local BJP worker), who used to take Rs 10,000 from Trinamool leader Shibaprasad Hazra every month, took these women to Delhi," Piyali is seen telling reporters.
Anup was not available for comment on Thursday but Bengal BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya stood by him. "Anup has been with BJP for over a decade and has helped Sandeshkhali survivors with legal assistance. He did not do anything wrong. (Rekha) Patra joined BJP after the Sandeshkhali movement," Bhattacharya said.
Bengal BJP co-minder Amit Malviya said Patra had not denied any of the crimes perpetrated in Sandeshkhali. "First attempt was to put out a fake, AI-generated video of Koyal, claiming that the movement was orchestrated and funded (by Adhikari)," he posted on his X handle.
Trinamool directly blamed the BJP leadership for the "web of lies and deceit". "Can we say that BJP even misled the president? How could the delegation from Sandeshkhali go and meet Murmu without the approval of the party leadership? To what depravity will BJP plunge for some votes?" state finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya asked.
Trinamool also moved the Election Commission, seeking custodial interrogation of everyone featuring and being named in the videos. Party MP Sagarika Ghose urged the EC to initiate criminal proceedings against BJP leaders, including Adhikari, and his aides for "orchestrating the conspiracy and paying bribes to the women of Sandeshkhali to falsely raise complaints and attempting to influence central agencies and constitutional bodies".
State women and child development minister Shashi Panja called the BJP moves "not only insidious but also demeaning a woman's dignity". "Can BJP return the honour of these women? We saw in Gujarat how convicted rapists were garlanded as sanskari. This is the same mindset and culture they are trying to import to Bengal," she added.
Sandeshkhali police has issued a notice to BJP worker Piyali under Section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code, asking her to depose at the police station within three days. Another complaint was also lodged at the police station against Koyal (who featured in the sting video) and BJP candidate Patra.