Sandeshkhali Woman Lodges Police Complaint, Alleges Abduction

The woman was heard in a purported video shared by BJP leader and lawyer Priyanka Tibrewal, saying that she was gagged and dragged out of her house when she went outside after hearing the barking of dogs.

Kolkata:A woman on Thursday lodged a police complaint, alleging that she was abducted by three persons from outside her residence in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali where allegations of sexual abuse against TMC leaders have been levelled.

In her complaint with the Sandeshkhali Police Station, the woman claimed that she was pressured to tell courts that alleged atrocities on women in the area were "false".

"A complaint was lodged at 2.30 am on Thursday, and a case was filed. The investigation is underway. Three persons have been named in the complaint. No arrests have been made so far," a senior police officer told PTI.

In a purported video shared by BJP leader and lawyer Priyanka Tibrewal on social media, the woman was heard saying that she was gagged and dragged out of her house when she went outside after hearing the barking of dogs.

The woman also claimed that she was asked to tell the courts that the alleged incidents of atrocities on women in Sandeshkhali by local TMC leaders were "false". The authenticity of the video could not be verified by PTI.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Tibrewal stated, "Today I visited Sandeshkhali, where TMC goons are threatening the people to prove Sk. Shahjahan is innocent. One woman named Anwesha Mondal told me about the atrocities of Dilip Mallick who few days ago abducted a woman. Following this complaint, today evening, TMC goons abducted her, tied her up, and left her beside a pond to die. We took her to the Police Station.

A series of purported videos surfaced recently from North 24 Parganas district's Sandeshkhali where TMC leaders were accused of sexual assault and land grab.

In the first such clip, a BJP leader of Sandeshkhali was heard saying that the protests by women were "staged" at the behest of Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, who was behind the "whole conspiracy".

In another video, a section of the women, who had earlier filed rape complaints, claimed that they were made to sign a blank paper by the BJP leaders and coerced to go to the police station.

The BJP leader, who was seen in the first video, was also heard saying in a third clip, that over 70 women had received Rs 2,000 each for taking part in protests against local TMC leaders. PTI did not verify the authenticity of these videos.

On May 12, BJP workers demonstrated against the circulation of purported videos "to malign the image" of saffron party leaders in Sandeshkhali, and allegedly heckled local TMC legislator Sukumar Mahata for spreading "misinformation" over complaints of sexual abuse, lodged by women in the area.

They also beat up a local TMC activist in Sandeshkhali for allegedly being involved in "disseminating false information about atrocities on women" in the area.

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