Kolkata: The Kolkata police have booked three staffers of Raj Bhavan, including the governor’s officer on special duty (OSD), for allegedly restraining a woman from filing a sexual harassment complaint against Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on 2 May.
An FIR was filed under IPC sections 341 (wrongful restraint) and 166 (public servant disobeying law) on 15 May at the Hare Street Police Station, according to a police statement issued Friday.
The police have named OSD Sandeep Singh Rajput, pantry staff and assistant Kusum Chhetri and chaprasi (peon) Sant Lal in the FIR. Sources in the police told ThePrint that all three have been served notices to appear before the police Sunday for questioning.
The police also recorded the complainant’s statement before a magistrate Friday under CrPC Section 164.
On 2 May, the complainant approached a police outpost to file a complaint against the West Bengal governor, alleging she had been “sexually harassed” on two occasions inside Raj Bhavan — allegations the Raj Bhavan dismissed in a statement as an “engineered narrative”.
Speaking to ThePrint, the complainant said, “OSD Sandeep Rajput used to speak very rudely with me, but on 24 April, when the incident took place for the first time, he came to my office around 3.45 pm and spoke very politely, as though he had a change of heart towards me. Now, I think it was part of a plan that his behaviour would irk me and I would go to the governor to complain against him because the governor would keep asking me if there was any problem I was facing.”
Recalling the incident that unfolded on 2 May, the complainant said, “On 2 May, when I took the supervisor with me to speak to the governor, OSD Sandeep Rajput had asked him thrice not to go with me. But I was so scared that I insisted he stay with me when I was meeting the governor. But the governor asked the supervisor to leave midway.”
While reporting the incident, the complainant alleged that she had been restrained from seeking help and approaching the police.
“After I was inappropriately touched by the governor, OSD Rajput along with ADC (aide-de-camp) Manish Joshi brought pantry staff Kusum Chhetri and asked me to calm down. The OSD continuously told me not to speak to anyone about this incident,” the complainant told ThePrint.
She added that Rajput even stopped her from calling her mother. “Kusum Chhetri took my phone away following the OSD’s instructions. ADC Manish Joshi said that the Raj Bhavan vehicle would drop me home. The OSD insisted Chhetri take me to the vehicle and carry my bag and told her that I should not speak to anyone on my way out.”
ThePrint reached Rajput and Chhetri through calls and text messages but failed to get a response. This report will be updated as and when a response is received.
Also Read: Bengal governor ‘harassment’ case: Raj Bhavan hands over CCTV footage to police day after screening
‘Staffers who rushed to help coerced later’
The complainant told ThePrint that those staffers who rushed in and tried to help her were asked to leave the room and she was locked inside.
Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to stay the night at Raj Bhavan on 2 May, there were Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel present at Raj Bhavan, who also wanted to know what was going on. According to the complainant, the OSD responded that it was a “personal matter”.
“Those who came to help me were later coerced by the OSD to seal their lips,” the woman alleged.
She went on to add that following the OSD’s instructions, Chhetri didn’t let go of her bag for a moment. “When I wanted to go to the quarters till the vehicle arrived, she didn’t let me. Instead, she said, I should quietly go home. I was locked up in the ‘peace room’ where I worked at Raj Bhavan,” she recalled while speaking to ThePrint.
Speaking about the peon, who has also been named in the FIR, the complainant said, “The governor had sent Sant Lal. He was very animated and tried to silence me and even shouted at me so that I would keep quiet. But I shouted back, which caught him by surprise and then he spoke softly and said the governor would speak to me later but to keep quiet now.”
Sources in Raj Bhavan said that the OSD Rajput flew out of Kolkata the day the FIR was lodged.
According to Raj Bhavan officials, Rajput was handpicked by the governor as his OSD along with 14 others who are part of his core team. Rajput had been closely associated with Governor Bose for years before joining him in Kolkata.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)