West Bengal BJP leader, accused in child trafficking case, held near Nepal border

West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh has already said the party was looking into the allegations against Juhi Chowdhury and would take action if she was found guilty.

Siliguri: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Tuesday night arrested Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) women's wing leader Juhi Chowdhury from close to the India-Nepal border in Darjeeling district for her alleged involvement in the sensational child trafficking racket in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district.

With Chowdhury's arrest, a total of four persons have so far been arrested in connection with the case for their alleged involvement in the selling of at least 17 babies and children across India and also to foreign couples in the last few months from an NGO Bimala Sishu Griho.

Chowdhury, who was on the run for the last few days, was picked up from Batasi area under Kharibari police station in Siliguri sub-division, said Special Superintendent (north), CID, Ajay Prasad.

She was being brought for interrogation to the Pintel Village, where the CID has set up a temporary camp and will be produced in court on Wednesday.

Sonali Mondal, chief adoption officer of the NGO, Chandana Chakraborty, chairperson of Bimala Sishu Griho and Manas Bhowmik, Chandana's brother, were arrested by a seven-member CID team.

Chowdhury's arrest came on a day when Chandana Chakraborty blamed her for the wrongdoing.

The three were charged with selling at least 17 children, aged between 1-14 years, to foreign buyers at a high price while falsely claiming that the children were handed over for legal adoption to needy couples after due screening and official procedures.

"Juhi Chowdhury is involved with the adoption centre for the last three years. If something wrong or immoral was done, it was done by her. Why am I being victimised? I am not the culprit," Chakraborty said in Jalpaiguri on Tuesday morning.

She admitted going to Delhi with Chowdhury to seek "help" for her organisation and claimed the BJP leader did all the negotiations with the senior leadership while she was in a different room.

"Juhi assured me she would sort out all the issues," Chakraborty said.

West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh has already said the party was looking into the allegations against Chowdhury and would take action if she was found guilty.

The CID blew off the lid of a child trafficking racket conducting raids in homes and nursing homes in Baduria of North 24 Parganas district, in Behala in the southern fringes of Kolkata and some other parts of south West Bengal since November last year.

(With Agency inputs)