West Bengal: BJP leader arrested for alleged prostitution racket

Sabyasachi Ghosh, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in West Bengal, was apprehended on February 23 on charges of operating a prostitution racket in Howrah. The arrest comes at a time of escalating political tensions in the state, with the BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) engaging in a fierce exchange of accusations and allegations.

The arrest of Ghosh follows closely on the heels of the BJP's relentless criticism of the TMC over the Sandeshkhali incident, where numerous women have come forward accusing aides of TMC heavyweight Sheikh Shahjahan of sexual exploitation. The incident has fueled a bitter war of words between the two political rivals.

Responding to Ghosh's arrest, the TMC wasted no time in launching a scathing attack on the BJP. In a tweet from its official handle, the TMC accused Ghosh of running a prostitution racket involving minor girls from his hotel in Howrah's Sankrail area. The tweet further claimed that the police had apprehended 11 individuals and rescued six victims from the site of the alleged crime.

The tweet from the TMC read, "@BJP4Bengal leader Sabyasachi Ghosh caught running a PROSTITUTION RACKET of MINOR GIRLS in his hotel in Howrah's Sankrail. The Police arrested 11 accused & rescued 6 victims from the spot. THIS IS BJP. They don't protect BETIS, they protect PIMPS!"

Meanwhile, tensions continue to simmer in Sandeshkhali, an island village in Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, where several women have accused TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan and his associates of land-grabbing and coercive sexual assault. Shahjahan himself remains at large following an incident where a mob purportedly linked to him attacked officials from the Enforcement Directorate during a corruption investigation.