By Sharanya Gopinathan
The general secretary of Bengal BJP’s Mahila Morcha, Juhi Chowdhury, has been arrested for her involvement in a child trafficking case. She had been hiding in a house near the Indo-Nepal border to avoid arrest, and officers had to disguise themselves as sages to gather information about her location and complete the arrest.
Chandana Chakraborty, who ran a child care home in Bengal called Bimala Sishu Griho, was the prime accused in a case of child trafficking that involved selling children and babies to foreign couples. The Hindu reports that during her interrogation, she mentioned that Juhi Chowdhury also spoke to BJP’s national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and West Bengal women’s wing president Roopa Ganguly to “clear some issues” regarding the child care home. Roopa Ganguly had earlier told DNA after Judi Chowdhury’s arrest that she believes Chowdhury was framed, as “she is such a little girl”.
Beyond the obvious feelings of disbelief and horror at the whole spectacle, this case also makes me think about the careful selection process that must go behind the BJP selecting who gets to be in charge of things that have to do with women. Remember when the then Women and Child Development Minister for Karnataka, C C Patil, was caught watching porn in the state Assembly?