Ignore summons on woman’s plaint, WB Guv tells staff
KOLKATA: West Bengal Governor
C V Ananda Bose on Sunday directed all staffers of Raj Bhavan to ignore any communication from the Kolkata Police in connection with a woman employee’s complaint of molestation against him.
The direction comes after Kolkata Police constituted an inquiry team to probe into the woman’s allegation against the governor.
On X, he said, “It is clear that in view of Article 361 (2) and (3) of the Constitution of India, the state police cannot act in any manner whatsoever to inquire/investigate/set in motion any kind of proceedings against the hon’ble governor.”
He also asserted that no criminal proceedings whatsoever shall be instituted or continued against the President, or the governor of a state in any court during his or her term of office. “The reports from the media indicate that the police propose to conduct an inquiry into the incident and that they would be examining the staff of Raj Bhavan. It is also reported that the investigating team intends to collect the CCTV footage from Raj Bhavan.”
“The question that arises is whether the police can conduct an inquiry and collect evidence in view of the immunity enjoyed by the governor .... ,” Bose said in the post.
The Kolkata Police team, as part of its investigation, will speak to witnesses over the next few days and has requested Raj Bhavan to share the CCTV footage, if available, a senior officer said on Saturday.
When asked how the police could initiate a probe despite the Constitutional immunity to the governor, another police officer said that it’s a regular practice to start an investigation after getting a complaint, especially from a woman.