BJP sacks Bengal leader for role in child trafficking
KOLKATA: The Bengal unit of the BJP on Wednesday removed Juhi Chowdhury from the position of state secretary of its mahila morcha following her arrest in a child trafficking case.
Her father, Rabindranath Chowdhury, was also removed from his position in the state committee, both for an indefinite period. “We have a legal cell that will try to obtain bail for her. Let the law take its course. If she is found guilty, she should be punished. We are not saying that she is innocent,” said BJP Bengal president Dilip Ghosh.
Chowdhury‘s arrest could have political implications as investigators may go after other BJP leaders after quizzing her. The head of the NGO Bimala Sishu Griho, Chandana Chakravarty, who was arrested on February 18, reportedly told the CID that Chowdhury took her to Delhi to discuss the matter (trafficking) and she has spoken to BJP leaders such as Kailash Vijayvargiya (national general secretary) and Rupa Ganguly (Rajya Sabha MP).
Both Vijayvargiya and Ganguly have told the media that it is a conspiracy to tarnish the image of the party leaders.
CID officers are trying to find out who are the influential people Chowdhury contacted when she was on the run for about 10 days before her arrest on Tuesday night. The developments come against the backdrop of worsening relations between BJP and Trinamool Congress with chief minister Mamata Banerjee publicly alleging that the CBI has been used by the Centre to arrest TMC MPs Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Tapas Paul in connection with the Rose Valley chit fund scam. She also indicated her administration can get even with BJP leaders.