The lone Raj Bhavan employee who is said to have come out in support of the woman who lodged a complaint of physical harassment against governor C.V. Ananda Bose will soon have his statement recorded before a magistrate, police sources said on Monday.

Officers told Metro that a court on Monday allowed their prayer to record the statement of the Raj Bhavan cook in front of a magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC this week.

None of the Raj Bhavan staffers except this young man has come forward and spoken to the police about what they reportedly heard and saw on May 2, the day the woman, a junior staffer at Raj Bhavan, raised the alarm against the governor.

This newspaper has reported that the staff member who came out in support of the complainant was asked not to report for duty at Raj Bhavan from May 5 and was forced to take earned leave to regularise his absence. The woman who lodged the complaint recorded her statement before a magistrate last week.

Three FIR-named Raj Bhavan employees who did not appear before the police on Sunday and were summoned again on Tuesday have sought time from the police.

A senior police officer said officer on special duty Sandip Singh Rajput had informed the police that he was not in Calcutta and sought 10 days. The other two — pantry staffer Kusum Chhetri and chaprasi (peon) Sant Lal — have sought seven days, the police said.
All three have sought a copy of the FIR registered against them.

The trio have been accused of wrongfully restraining the complainant and preventing her from going out and reporting the alleged harassment to the police on May 2.

Apart from the woman staffer, only the cook went to the police and gave his statement.

The cook was reportedly in the pantry on the first floor of Raj Bhavan on May 2 and saw the woman come out of the governor’s room. Sources said he told the police in detail what he saw and heard in the EPABX room, where the woman was later allegedly wrongfully restrained.

This newspaper reported on May 12 details of what the police had learned from the cook.

Four more Raj Bhavan staffers, whose names the complainant had mentioned as witnesses, have been summoned by the police.

According to the law, a statement made before a magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC has the value of primary evidence before a court of law.

“The magisterial statement is considered as primary evidence because of its sanctity. In case of a statement before the police, the defence lawyers can always say the cops influenced the person to record his or her statement. But no such allegation can be brought if the statement is recorded before a magistrate,” said a senior criminal lawyer.

Investigators feel the cook’s statement as a witness to the alleged incident of wrongful restraint could be crucial to substantiating the charges against the accused trio.