The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Saturday released a video alleging that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari hatched the Sandeshkhali conspiracy and paid women villagers to frame local TMC leaders so that the BJP may get an advantage ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
In the 32-minute video, a man named Gangadhar Koyal was recorded on a spy cam purportedly narrating how Adhikari instructed BJP functionaries to frame TMC strongmen and get them arrested so that the party may put up a fight in the TMC bastion. Koyal was identified in the video as the BJP’s mandal president in Sandeshkhali – II.
“We got it done as per instructions of Suvendu da. He helped us. Suvendu da advised us that if we can’t get the (TMC’s) strongmen arrested we won’t be able to put up a fight,” he was seen saying in the video while speaking to two unidentified men.
HT couldn’t independently ascertain the authenticity of the video
“And to get them (the strongmen) arrested they must be framed,” said one of the men with whom Koyal was speaking. Koyal smiled and nodded.
“I was asked to convince the women to file complaints of rape and I got them done. The women never refused. They did what they were asked to do. We told the women that if you can’t get the strongmen arrested, they won’t allow you villagers to live in peace. You will all be killed,” Koyal said in the video.
Violent protests had erupted at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas in February with women villagers demanding the arrest of TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides over allegations of sexual assault and illegal land grabbing.
“The women were asked to tell that they were raped at least 6–7 months ago. There would be no medical tests and their statements would be enough. A lot of brainwork went behind this,” the BJP functionary was seen purportedly saying while answering to questions posed by the unidentified men in the video.
Shahjahan was arrested by the state police on February 29 and handed over to the CBI on the orders of the Calcutta high court. The CBI is now probing into the allegations of sexual assault and land grabbing.
“The women were given money. Adhikari sent the money. One of the women (name withheld) became nervous. She was sent money by Adhikari. I had reports that there were some discrepancies in the distribution of money and some of the people left. Each was paid ₹2,000,” Koyal said in the video.
Koyal, however, told the media that this was a conspiracy against him and that the video was doctored.
“It is a conspiracy against me. I am being framed. Technology has been used to edit the video and my voice. It is a conspiracy against me, my party, Adhikari and the women of Sandeshkhali. I demand a CBI probe,” Koyal told the media.
The BJP has made the Sandeshkhali one of its key poll planks against the TMC this election. Top BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah have been attacking the TMC in every election rally over the Sandeshkhali unrest.
With the video surfacing, the TMC has hit back saying the BJP was conspiring to malign the state.
“The shocking Sandeshkhali sting shows how deep the rot is within the BJP. In their hatred for Bengal’s progressive thought & culture, the Bangla-Birodhis orchestrated a conspiracy to defame our state on every possible level. Never before in the history of India has a ruling party in Delhi tried to malign an entire state and its people. History will witness how Bengal will rise in rage against Delhi’s conspiratorial regime & ensure their Bishorjon,” chief minister Mamata Banerjee posted wrote on her X handle.
Adhikari told reporters: “I didn’t know whether it is some TMC functionary’s voice or some other person’s voice. It can be a mimicry.”
“These are TMC men who have been identified as BJP functionaries. The TMC knows very well that it is going to lose and is hence making up such stories to malign our leaders,” said Rahul Sinha, BJP leader.
Shanti Dolui, BJP’s mandal president of Sandeshkhali-1, was also caught on a spy cam purportedly speaking to an unidentified man on planting firearms in a house at Sandeshkhali.
“This is a fake and doctored video. It was planted to malign Adhikari, leader of the Opposition, and to criticise the Prime Minister and BJP’s top leaders. In a bid to malign the BJP, the TMC has instead maligned the women of Sanedshkhali. Sandeshkhali unrest was not a political protest. It was a spontaneous agitation by locals against atrocities of TMC leaders. Koyal is a BJP leader and wasn’t associated with the protest. BJP leaders were stopped from entering Sandeshkhali. The voice is not Koyal’s. We demand a CBI probe,” said Samik Bhattacharya, BJP spokesperson.
It may be recalled that CBI recovered a cache of firearms from a house in Sandeshkhali on April 26. The NSG had to be roped in to diffuse some bombs found in the house.
A woman, who was identified as an alleged victim of sexual assault, was seen purportedly saying in the video that she was asked to sign a document. She said that she signed the document without reading it.
“The BJP hasn’t been able to digest the people’s mandate in the 2021 West Bengal assembly polls. You may arrest any TMC leader but why are you maligning Bengal? Koyal has himself said in the video that Sandeshkhali women were paid ₹2,000 to make the allegations. You have sold the dignity of women for just ₹2,000 to Delhi. Let the people of Bengal see this. The BJP mandal president is saying that fake rape charges were slapped. Where is the National Women’s Commission today and SC and ST Commission? What would the judiciary say today? Never thought that politics could stoop to such low levels. Even yesterday Prime Minister Modi attacked the TMC over the Sandeshkhali issue. A section of media and judiciary is also responsible for this,” Abhishek Banerjee, TMC national general secretary, said while addressing a press conference in Kolkata.
He also said that if the BJP’s national leaders do not apologise in the next 48 hours, it will be accepted that they were behind the conspiracy.
Aisha Patel is a dedicated Indian correspondent with a deep understanding of the nation’s diverse affairs. With a background in Indian culture, politics, and current events, she provides in-depth analysis and timely reporting on domestic issues within India.
