Mamata Banerjee calls for Bengal governor’s resignation over molestation charges, says Ananda Bose shared ’edited video’

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said at an election rally on Saturday that the Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose must explain why he should not resign. She said this in reference to the allegations of molestation against Bose.

Earlier this week, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose screened multiple CCTV footage from Raj Bhavan in a bid to clear the air over the allegations brought against him by a contractual woman employee of the governor's house.

Reacting to the videos, Banerjee was quoted by PTI as saying, "The Bengal Governor released edited CCTV footage of Raj Bhavan. I watched the entire video, and its contents are shocking."

"I will not visit Raj Bhavan till CV Ananda Bose remains Bengal Governor," CM Mamata Banerjee said at a poll rally in Hooghly.

A day after the CCTV footage were screened the victim said she will seek President Droupadi Murmu's intervention into the matter. The employee raised her objections to the public screening of unedited footage where her identity was allegedly disclosed since her face wasn't blurred.

According to news agency PTI, the contractual woman employee of Raj Bhavan had earlier lodged a complaint with the Kolkata Police, alleging that she was molested by Bose in the governor's house on April 24 and May 2.

The woman criticised Bose for orchestrating a "ridiculous drama" to deflect from his actions. She even emphasised that he should have provided the footage to police at the outset of the investigation.

"He (the Governor) committed an ugly act. Then he staged a ridiculous drama to cover his fault. He never took my permission before releasing the footage. This is in violation of our laws since my identity should have been kept confidential," the women was quoted by PTI as saying.

What the CCTV footage showed?

The footage from two CCTV cameras positioned at the main (north) gate, spanning from 5.32 pm to 6.41 pm on May 2, was shown to a select group of people and journalists at the Central Marble Hall on the ground floor of Raj Bhavan.

In the first footage, the employee, dressed in jeans and a top, was seen hurrying to the police outpost housed within the governor house amidst a significant number of police personnel who were deployed in the premises for the scheduled visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on that day.

The second footage, which lasted for around 10 minutes, showed various vehicles including fire tenders arriving at the north gate of Raj Bhavan and policemen lining up for their regular duties. The victim, however, could not be spotted.

(With inputs from PTI)