West Bengal: BJP candidate allegedly sexually assualted 17-year-old girl; charged under the POCSO Act

The Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from West Bengal’s Diamond Harbour has been accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old teenage girl. The incident took place when on 26th of April the 17-year-old girl and her father went to him to file a complaint. The complaint was filed next day, following which Nilanjan Roy, BJP candidate, has been charged under the POCSO Act.

According to the state child rights body, "A complaint was lodged at the Falta police station. Medical examination of the girl was done and her statement recorded, but the police did not arrest Roy," said Ananya Chatterjee Chakrobarti, the chairperson of West Bengal State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
After they came to know about the incident on Friday, they wrote to the Election Commission to immediately arrest Roy. Ms Chakrobarti and her colleagues also visited the girl at her house.

Meanwhile, the state BJP Vice-President JayPrakash Majumdar has blamed the Trinamool Congress and termed it as a "false case." “It is a conspiracy to defame the candidate ahead of the elections. It was a false case filed in a police station where he was not present during the time of the incident. On primary investigation, police did not find a prima-facie case so they did not proceed. Now the TMC is using the Child Rights Commission, who has sent a letter to the EC to arrest him, which is beyond their jurisdiction,” he told to NDTV. The Election commission is yet to respond in the case.

BJP has fielded Nilanjan Roy against Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee from the seat. Diamond Harbour goes to polls on May 19.

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