Despite receiving a written complaint from a woman staffer of the Raj Bhavan accusing West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose of 'outraging her modesty', the Kolkata Police seem to be in a fix as to what should the next course of action in the matter.
According to legal experts, the Governor and the President of India, as constitutional heads of the state and the country, respectively, have immunity against any legal proceedings under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
City police sources said they are consulting their legal brains to decide on the next course of action.
In a startling development on Thursday afternoon, a temporary female staff at the Raj Bhavan filed a written complaint with the police accusing Governor Bose of outraging her modesty.
Police sources said the woman, reportedly attached to the Peace Room in the Raj Bhavan, approached the officer-in-charge of the police outpost located inside the Governor's House and accused Ananda Bose of molesting her on the pretext of providing her a permanent job. Later, she submitted a written complaint at the Hare Street police station, under which the Raj Bhavan falls.
According to Article 361 of the Constitution, a criminal proceeding cannot be instituted in a court against the Governor during his term of office.
Reacting to the development, state minister and senior Trinamool Congress leader Chandrima Bhattacharya said, "I wonder what is happening in the Raj Bhavan, and that too on a day when the Prime Minister is coming to the state."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to reach Kolkata on Thursday night and stay at the Raj Bhavan. He will address three election rallies in the state on Friday.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Saharika Ghose posted on X: "Molestation charges against Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose put the prestige of the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata at stake. PM@narendramodi is scheduled to arrive in Kolkata today and stay overnight at Raj Bhavan. Will Modi ask CV Ananda Bose for an explanation?"
However, senior BJP leader Tathagata Roy, who had been the Governor of Tripura and Meghalaya, came out in the Bengal Governor's defence, saying: "Generally, such accusations of outrage of modesty are raised against anyone who has some past records in the matter.
"When I was the Governor of Meghalaya, he (Ananda Bose) was posted as a senior bureaucrat there. In due course, he worked in several important positions as a senior bureaucrat. There has been no such complaint against him in the past."
(With inputs from IANS)
