Top BJP leaders to hold special meeting on Jalpaiguri child trafficking case

KOLKATA: Top BJP leaders from Delhi will hold a special meeting with their Bengal counterparts here on March 9 in view of the alleged involvement of a woman party leader in the Jalpaiguri child trafficking case.

The woman BJP leader from Jalpaiguri district in north Bengal, Juhi Chowdhury has reportedly gone underground ever since her name had surfaced in the CID investigation into the child trafficking case. The owner of the rescue home in Jalpaiguri, who is currently in CID custody, had reportedly named Juhi for helping her to get in touch with some key BJP leaders in Delhi to receive favour from them in getting financial grants and aids foe her rescue home.

Since the arrested owner of the home has named some top BJP leaders including Juhi, the saffron brigade here is grossly embarrassed and top leaders from Bengal will explain before the central leadership during the March 9 meeting the relevant developments over the issue of child trafficking and alleged involvement of their leaders in it.

BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, who is also in charge of the party's Bengal affairs and another top leader Shivprakash will attend the meeting here with the state leaders on March 9, party sources said on Tuesday.

Interestingly, Juhi's father Rabindranath Chowdhury is also a BJP state committee member and held meetings with state leaders here a few days back after his daughter went underground following CID probe into the child trafficking case.

It is alleged that Juhi and her father's trip to Delhi was sponsored by the arrested owner of the Jalpaiguri Home. BJP insiders said that Juhi is close to the party's Rajya Sabha MP and actress Roopa Ganguly.

There has been controversy within Bengal BJP after the state party president Dilip Ghosh had openly declared that the party will stand beside the fugitive leader Juhi. A section of Bengal BJP leaders feel that instead of giving open support to Juhi even after her alleged involvement in the child trafficking case, the party should suspend her for the time being to face police inquiry.

"We could easily take her back once she gets a clean chit from any court of law," said a senior BJP leader.