Bengal BJP leader held for child trafficking
Second party leader to be held for ties with racket
The CID arrested BJP women’s wing leader Juhi Chowdhury on Tuesday night from Batasia area in north West Bengal, close to the Indo-Nepal border, for her alleged involvement in a child trafficking case.
The BJP denied on Wednesday that any of its leaders were involved in child trafficking and termed Ms Chowdhury’s arrest in connection with the case as a “conspiracy”.
The party’s state chief Dilip Ghosh accused the CID of acting as a wing of the ruling TMC. “It seems a conspiracy has been hatched by the TMC government to malign our party leaders. The CID is working as a party wing of TMC,” he said.
However, the BJP removed Ms Chowdhury from all party posts following her arrest. “We have removed her from all party posts, as allegations have been raised against her. But she will remain a party worker. We will provide her legal help if needed,” Mr Ghosh said.
Four people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in selling babies in India and abroad in the last few months.
State BJP leader Juhi Chowdhury, who was arrested by the criminal investigation department (CID) in the child trafficking racket in North Bengal, on Tuesday night was remanded in 12 days’ CID custody by the district court in Jalpaiguri on Wednesday. She claimed herself to be innocent. Red-faced by her arrest, the state BJP, however, removed her from her post of general secretary of the party’s women’s wing.
Juhi’s arrest also prompted the party to remove her father Rabindra Narayan Chowdhury from its state committee of which he was a member. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said, “The party has decided not to keep Ms Chowdhury in any post of the party. We have removed her and her father from party posts. Ms Chowdhury visited New Delhi keeping the party in dark. This created a controversy which tarnished the party’s image.”
He added, “Besides, they (father-daughter duo) have been officially accused of an offence. The allegations against them are so serious that we cannot accept it positively. Law is taking its own course. If they can prove themselves innocent in the eyes of law, the party will get in touch with them.” This was the second time a