Suvendu Adhikari, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Leader of Opposition in West Bengal, vehemently refuted allegations of labeling Sikh police officer Jaspreet Singh as a "Khalistani" during an incident where he and a delegation of party members were denied access to Sandeshkali in the North 24 Parganas district earlier this week. Adhikari firmly stated that the viral video purportedly showing him making such remarks was manipulated, with his voice and image being falsely portrayed.
Addressing the situation, Adhikari expressed his goodwill towards the Sikh community and extended his willingness to cooperate if there was any evidence suggesting his involvement in the alleged derogatory comments directed at the officer. He emphasized that the contentious visuals and audio recordings circulating online were fabricated, asserting that neither he nor his party had any connection to the purportedly altered content.
Despite Adhikari's rebuttal, members of the Sikh community have staged protests outside the BJP headquarters in Kolkata for the past four days, alleging that Adhikari had indeed referred to Singh as a "Khalistani" and demanding an apology from him.
The controversy arose following a video shared by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, featuring Singh questioning whether he would have faced accusations of being a "Khalistani" had he not been wearing a turban. Singh, an IPS officer serving as the Special Superintendent (Intelligence) at the West Bengal Police, was engaged in a confrontation with Adhikari and his delegation when they were prevented from visiting Sandeshkhali island to meet women who had made allegations of land grabbing and sexual assault against local Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan and his associates.
In the video, BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul is seen engaged in a heated exchange with the police officer, while another BJP member can be heard denying the alleged use of the "Khalistani" term. Subsequently, the West Bengal Police released another video implicating Adhikari as the individual who made the derogatory remark, leading to the filing of an FIR against unidentified BJP leaders in connection with the incident.
Amidst these developments, the BJP has accused Mamata Banerjee of attempting to divert attention from the Sandeshkhali controversy through the dissemination of the contentious video footage.
