Woman accuses Ritabrata of sexual exploitation, pleads to PM for justice

Kolkata: Within a month of his expulsion from the CPI(M), Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee has faced another blow after a Netherlands-based woman from North Bengal accused him of raping her on the false promise of marriage. Namrata Dutta, a software engineer, lodged a complaint with the Balurghat police station in South Dinajpur on Tuesday after pleading for justice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter.

She alleged, “He promised to marry me. But he is now denying it totally. In 2016, we first met each other. Our conversation began through Twitter. Later, he sent me a ticket to meet him at his flat on 104 South Avenue in New Delhi.” Ms Dutta claimed, “He came to receive me after I reached there. Our physical relationship started thereafter. But I did not know then that he has another girlfriend, Durba Sen. The only thing I knew that his divorce case was underway.”

Ms Dutta complained, “In December, we visited Netherlands. The tour was sponsored by me. The controversy over his Apple watch was gifted by me. He used me. Everyday, he gave me the promise of marrying me.” She added, “Only two days ago, he transferred Rs 2.5 lakhs to my account as a compensation for having a physical relationship as if I am a prostitute and everything would be settled after the payment of the money.” 

According to her, Ms Sen also called her. Ms Dutta alleged, “She told me if I would not leave Ritabrata, she would exercise his contacts with top Trinamul Congress leaders to leave me raped or murdered.” Ms Sen, however, refuted her charges. “Anyone can level allegations verbally against the other. There is nothing wrong in it. But it is really a joke. We have taken legal steps which will be known in time. We will also hold a press meet.”

She added, “I find the entire episode funny. I seriously was not aware about my power to leave anyone raped.” Ms Dutta’s complaint to the police, however, came four days after Mr Banerjee’s complaint with the Garfa police station against her of blackmail and threat. Accusing Namrata of demanding `50 lakhs from him by October 15, he alleged, “She has also threatened to lodge false criminal cases against me if I fail to deliver such sum as demanded by her within the stipulated time or if I married anyone other than her.”

He added, “I even gave in to her demand out of fear and helplessness and transferred another sum of `2.5 lakhs on 4th October, 2017.” According to the parliamentarian, Ms Dutta may be backed by politically influential persons against him. In his complaint, he stated that Ms Dutta approached him for financial assistance to pursue her higher education. It read, “I had actively helped her in securing such loan from SBI Balurghat Branch. Thereafter, she continued to make repeated material demands.” 

Mr Banerjee added, “It is pertinent to mention herein that in the month of February-March, 2017, she informed me that she was suffering from lymphoma and again demanded money for her treatment.” He said, “Due to her threat, I was compelled to make a payment of `2.25 lakhs on 20th July, 2017.” Mr Banerjee also claimed that Ms Dutta had threatened him from unknown numbers.

Hours before his complaint, Ms Dutta had tweeted, “@narendramodi sir @RitabrataBanerj took me to his 104 South Avenue flat under false pretext to have a physical relationship. In a Tweet on Monday morning, Mr Banerjee also posted a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation between them to support his claim of facing monetary demands by her.