TMC MLA Mahua Moitra from Karimpur Assembly Constituency in Nadia district has filed a police complaint against BJP MP and Union minister Babul Supriyo alleging that he insulted her modesty.
Talking to DNA, Moitra said that on January 3 she and Supriyo were on a national TV channel debating an issue and at the last moment of the 21 minute 55 second debate, Supriyo made some objectionable comments against which prompted her to file the complaint. “During the last few seconds of the show he said, ‘Mahua, are you on mohua?’ indicating that I was in an inebriated state. There was a time lag of a few seconds and before I could react to this, the programme ended. I found the comment very insulting and thus filed the complaint on January 4 at the Alipore Police Station,” she said. An FIR based on the complaint has been filed and charges under section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the IPC has been slapped on the BJP MP. On January 6, Moitra also gave a statement in front of the magistrate under section 164 of CrPC.
Deputy Commissioner (south), Praveen Tripathi said that based on the complaint, Supriyo has been summoned at the Alipore police station on January 12.
Supriyo, on the other hand, said that he was not worried about the allegation. “We know what her claim to fame is and during the show, she also said things to me that made me think of filing defamation charges against her. TMC leaders had earlier too tried to implicate me in false cases saying that I had been creating trouble in a drunken state and that I was carrying a gun but nothing could be substantiated. I know how to deal with these things,” he said.
Meanwhile, Supriyo said that he has sent notices to Moitra and two other TMC MPs – Saugata Roy and Tapas Paul. “I have sent notices to three of them, dispatched from my Delhi office. I have given them a week to tender an unconditional apology, failing which I will be pressing defamation charges against them,” Supriyo told DNA.
Saugata Roy had reportedly said that the singer turned politician had accepted remuneration in cash for his performance, which he never declared. Supriyo also said that both Roy and Paul had alleged that he was close to Goutam Kundu, owner of the Rose Valley Group. “They had said that I was very close to the group and that I was on their payroll,” Supriyo said.
