Trinamool expels Birbhum councillor accused of raping woman on false promise of marriage

Kolkata, Oct 30 (IANS) The Trinamool Congress on Thursday expelled a party councillor from Birbhum district after he was accused of raping a woman on the false promise of marriage. The decision came within 24 hours of the filing of a police case against him. According to the party, Priyanath Sau, the accused councillor and vice-president of the Rampurhat city Trinamool committee, was expelled following directions from Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool Congress national general secretary and leader of the party in the Lok Sabha. An FIR was registered against Sau on Wednesday based on a complaint lodged by a young woman who alleged that he concealed his marriage and entered into a physical relationship with her under the false pretext of marrying her, only to later renege on his promise. Deputy Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly and Rampurhat Trinamool Congress MLA Ashish Banerjee announced the disciplinary action at the party office in Rampurhat on Thursday afternoon. “The decision to expel him was taken after a thorough review by Abhishek Banerjee. Our leader does not believe in rash decisions. After verifying all aspects of the matter, he instructed us to expel the councillor from the party for an indefinite period,” Banerjee told reporters. According to the police complaint, the victim said she met Sau in 2015 while preparing her voter identity card. She alleged that although he was already married and had a child, he hid this fact from her and repeatedly raped her over the years on the promise of marriage. “When her family later approached Sau for marriage, he refused, claiming he was already married,” the complaint stated. A senior officer of the Birbhum district police confirmed that a case had been registered and investigation had begun. “A case has been registered. We have started an investigation and are looking into all aspects of the allegations,” the officer said. As of Thursday evening, the police had not arrested the accused councillor. The expulsion comes amid a series of image-sensitive disciplinary measures by the Trinamool Congress in recent months, with the party leadership stressing that individuals facing criminal charges would not be shielded or tolerated.