Child trafficking key accused says BJP leader assured her of resolving 'all problems' in running her home

A general secretary of the BJP’s women’s wing perhaps spoke to party leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya and Roopa Ganguly to “resolve some issues” about her child care home, says Chandana Chakraborty.

Chandana Chakraborty at a hospital in Siliguri, where she underwent treatment, on February 22.

The names of BJP's national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and West Bengal women’s wing president Roopa Ganguly were mentioned by the key accused in a child trafficking case in West Bengal.

Chandana Chakraborty, who ran a child care home in north Bengal, said that Juhi Chowdhury, a general secretary of the State BJP’s women’s wing, perhaps spoke to Mr. Vijayvargiya and Ms. Ganguly to “resolve some issues” about the child care home.

Ms. Chakraborty told journalists in Siliguri before being produced before a court, “I have not spoken to anyone [central BJP leaders]. Juhi spoke to them and perhaps to Roopa Ganguly and Kailash Vijayvargiya. I was sitting in another room when she spoke to them,”

Ms. Chakraborty said she approached Ms. Chowdhury for “some help” and the latter assured her of “resolving all problems” in running the child care home.

Meanwhile, Mr. Vijayvargiya accused the Kolkata Police of “being controlled by the Trinamool Congress. “They [the Kolkata police] keep conspiring against us. They have already targeted our party leaders Joyprakash Majumdar and Sishir Bajoria. Now they are conspiring against me,” he said

The child trafficking racket was busted by the State’s Criminal Investigation Department last week and Ms. Chakraborty and one of her associates were arrested. Within a few days, one more person was arrested in connection with the case.

Juhi Chowdhury absconding

Ms. Chowdhury, who is absconding, has been at the centre of a controversy within the BJP, as a section of party leaders have contradicted State party president Dilip Ghosh’s stand in this regard.

While Mr. Ghosh has repeatedly said that Ms. Chowdhury is a “victim of TMC’s political vendetta”, Union Minister Babul Supriyo recently questioned the reason behind her going into hiding. A visibly annoyed Mr. Ghosh had said his stand in this regard is final.

Recently, Ms. Ganguly embarrassed the party's State leadership when she posted that it was the State president who “advised” her to make Ms. Chowdhury a general secretary of the women’s wing.