'Monetary transactions existed between Juhee and Chandana'

The CID revealed that monetary transactions existed between the destitute home owner Chandana Chakraborty and BJP leader Juhee Chowdhury, both accused in the child trafficking and illegal adoption racket.

CID has traced bank transactions which could be a pointer to a business relation between the two, stated a CID source. This negates Juhi's father's claim that Juhi as a political leader was merely trying to help out Chandana with the licence problems of her destitute homes, which is part of the work profile of any political leader.

In February, a total amount of Rs. 4.5 lakh were transferred from 3 bank accounts of persons having links with Juhee to two accounts linked to the homes run by Chandana.

Meanwhile, the CID are also looking into the role of a BJP youth leader in the Jalpaiguri child trafficking case as he used to assist Juhee Chowdhury in all her activities.

The investigating officers came to know that he had accompanied Juhee up to her relative's house at Batasi village in Indo-Nepal border. He had also helped Juhee in convincing one of his relatives in Nepal to allow her to stay in their house for some days.

He stayed in Batasi village when Juhee was hiding in Nepal to help the latter if required. Juhee had stopped using her mobile phone from 4.30 pm on February 19 so that the investigating officers do not get her mobile tower location.

The two CID officers – Saugata Ghosh and Kakoli Kundu – who were staying in a temple in Batasi in disguise of monks had tactfully managed to bring back Juhee to Batasi village and subsequently arrested her.

Since the youth was always with Juhee, the officers are suspecting that he knows each and every aspect of the child trafficking case. CID officers would interrogate him to verify statements of Juhee and Chandana Chakraborty.

Juhee's father Rabindranarayan Chowdhury who was also a BJP leader is also absconding fearing arrest. The CID is on a lookout for him. Rabindranarayan had accompanied both Juhee and Chandana to Delhi where they had met front rung BJP leaders.

The CID has already established certain links between a BJP Rajya Sabha MP and Juhee. The accused had met the MP in Central Kolkata in early January.

CID sources claim that there are also links between Juhee and high profile political leaders of Delhi. Chandana has further alleged that Juhee has been trying to stake a claim on the three homes and a tourist resort in Chalsa in Dooars.

CID sources state that the duo was trying to expand business by opening up four new homes in North Bengal. They were frequenting Delhi and meeting influential people for this. Chakraborty claimed that there were certain "terms and conditions" between her and Chowdhury whereby Chowdhury had assured that she would straighten out matters in Delhi.

Chakraborty had requested Chowdhury to use her influence in Delhi for the upgradation of the homes to specialised adoption centre to facilitate the flow of more funds.

Incidentally in January this year, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) Jalpaiguri had lodged a police complaint regarding irregularities in three homes, namely Bimala Sishu Griho, Ashroy Short Stay Home and North Bengal People's Development Committee owned by Chakraborty.

The case was handed over to the CID. 14 kids were rescued from the Homes which led to the arrest of Chakraborty; Sonali Mondal, chief adoption officer of an NGO, on February 18 and 19. They were remanded to 13 days of police custody. Later Chakraborty's brother Manas Bhowmik was also arrested.

CID recovered incriminating documents from the Homes on the basis of which the arrested were charged for child trafficking and selling of babies to France, US, Singapore and Spain. During interrogation Chakraborty had named Chowdhury leading to the CID starting a suo motu case against Chowdhury.

The CID had also recovered a diary in which it is stated that from 2010 to 2016 around 104 kids were given out for adoption. Out of these, many children were sold.