Banerjee accuses governor of showing 'edited videos' in molestation case
Amid sexual harassment allegations against West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose by a contractual female employee at the Raj Bhavan, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said she will not visit the premises till Bose remains governor. "I feel sitting beside him is also sin," she said. Banerjee also accused Bose of showing "edited" CCTV footage of the Raj Bhavan premises to the general public, saying, "I watched the entire video, and its contents are shocking."
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On May 2, the employee filed a complaint against Bose, accusing him of molesting her on two occasions. In her complaint, the woman said the governor sexually harassed her on March 24 and again on May 2, when he summoned her to his chambers under the guise of providing her a permanent job. On May 9, Bose showed CCTV footage of the premises of May 2 to around 100 people before sending the footage to Kolkata Police the next day.
CCTV footage showed to select few
Banerjee's "edited videos" charge came after Bose showed the CCTV footage to a small number of people at the Central Marble Hall. The footage was from May 2 between 5:32pm to 6:41pm. In the first video, the woman was seen going to the police outpost housed within the governor's residence, clothed in blue jeans and a top. The second video showed many vehicles arriving at the gate, but the woman could not be seen emerging from the next room.
Her face should have been blurred: TMC leader
Reacting to the CCTV footage screening, Trinamool Congress leader Chandrima Bhattacharya questioned who the 100 people whom Governor Bose had selected to show the videos were. "The governor said he will show CCTV footage to 100 people. Who are those 100? It was seen that some policemen were roaming around outside Raj Bhavan. A woman is seen in the footage. Her face should have been blurred," she remarked.
'Will never accept this 'Didigiri': Government
Meanwhile, Bose issued a warning to Banerjee last Monday after she cited the sexual harassment allegations against him to target him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Now because of the humiliating remarks that have been made against me, I am forced to tell you, Mamata Banerjee's politics is dirty. Still, I will pray to God to save her, but this is difficult even for God. I will never accept this 'Didigiri' on the distinguished office of the Governor," he said.