Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on Wednesday dubbed police’s attempt to probe allegations of sexual harassment against him as “illegal and unconstitutional” and invited 100 “ordinary citizens” to see CCTV footage of the Raj Bhavan on Thursday morning.
Only the first 100 applicants — who have to send an email or call a number provided by the governor — will get the opportunity, a statement issued by Bose said.
The statement with the heading “Sach ke Saamne” (Facing the truth) addressed Raj Bhavan staff and mentioned that the governor had launched the programme “in the background of the mischievous and fabricated allegations by the police that Raj Bhavan is not sparing the CCTV footages of an incident which is under the illegal and unconstitutional investigation of the police”.
“Hon’ble Governor has decided that the CCTV footages can be seen by any citizen of West Bengal — except politician Mamata Banerjee and her police for the stand they had taken, which is in public domain. Under the SACH KE SAAMNE programme anyone who wants to see the CCTV footage fully can send email at: adcrajbhavankolkata@gmail.com and governor-wb@nic.in or call at Raj Bhavan PBX at 033-22001641. The first hundred can see the footage inside Raj Bhavan, Kolkata on 09 May, 2024 at 11.30 am,” the statement said.
Earlier, the governor had through a written statement barred Raj Bhavan staff from sharing the footage or talking to the police or helping with the investigation.
The young woman who has accused the governor of making physical advances on her on two occasions told The Telegraph on Wednesday evening that she was aware of the latest statement from the governor. “Only a person with a disturbed mind can do this. He is even older than my father,” she said.
“He claims to be innocent. Then why is he not allowing the police investigation? The Raj Bhavan staff do not come under Article 361, then why has he gagged them?” the woman asked.
“If he (the governor) was clean, he could have shared the CCTV footage on the first day when the police asked for it. It needed no such ridiculous drama. If he was clean, he could have allowed the staff to meet the police. If he has a ‘chitta jetha bhoy shunyo (mind without fear)’, he can come out of his shield of immunity,” she went on.
During recent conversations, she had appeared to be on the verge of breaking down.
The woman said she was “ready to sit face to face (with the governor) and be questioned or to undergo any test or technology”.
On May 2, she alleged that she had been approached twice by Bose — first on April 24 and then on May 2 — on the pretext of a possible promotion and when she resisted, there were efforts to stop her from coming out of the building and reporting the matter to the police.
Last week, Kolkata police made a requisition for the Raj Bhavan CCTV footage following the complaint of “physical advances” by the young staffer.
The police have yet to get the footage.
A senior police officer said it was a “questionable move” to display the footage of a high-security building to outsiders as it may put the safety and security of the Governor’s House at stake.
“We do not know CCTV footage from which part of the Governor’s House will be shown tomorrow (on Thursday) but it is doubtful if it is correct to expose the insides of a highly protected building like this. It raises a larger concern about the safety and security of the Governor’s House,” said the officer.
