Sandeshkhali Sting Video : Plea In Supreme Court Seeks SIT Probe To Ascertain Genuineness Of Video

An application has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking an independent investigation to ascertain the genuineness of the video of a sting operation which showed a person claiming that the false allegations of rape were raised by women in Sandeshkhali at the instance of BJP MLA Suvendhu Adhikari to cast Trinamool Congress leaders in bad light.

The application has been filed by a woman belonging to the Scheduled Caste community. The applicant seeks to intervene in the Special Leave Petition filed by the State of West Bengal challenging the Calcutta High Court's direction for a CBI investigation into allegations of rape and land-grabbing in Sandeshkhali.

The present application also refers to certain reports regarding women being forced to sign blank papers to file false rape complaints. In this background, the applicant urged the Court to constitute a Special Investigation Team to conduct a Court-monitored investigation to ascertain the truth of the matter.

Senior Advocate Dr Maneka Guruswamy mentioned the application today before a bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta for urgent listing. The bench stated that the request will be considered.

Asserting that the applicant has no political affiliation and was only interested to ascertain the truth of the matter, she stated that the contents of the sting video are "alarming".

"As a citizen of the State of West Bengal, the Applicant apprehends that amidst all the political chaos between the opposition and the ruling dispensation at the State, Sandeshkhali district has been made a political tool to subserve the propaganda of BJP while putting the State in a bad light, or vice-versa, but the situation on ground is grim, and therefore an independent analysis of the video is required immediately to assuage the concerns of many like the Applicant herein," the application stated.

The Application for Intervention and Direction has been filed by Mr Udayaditya Banerjee, AoR.