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Bharati Ghosh, Ex-IPS Who Was Close To Mamata Banerjee, Joins BJP

Ghosh, who now has an extortion case against her, said 'thugocracy’ had replace democracy in West Bengal.

Amid the crisis in West Bengal, Bharati Ghosh, a former IPS officer in the state who was considered close to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has now joined the BJP.

BJP leader Kailash Vijaywargiya took to Twitter to welcome Ghosh saying that the BJP family in West Bengal was growing.

Ghosh alleged that “thugocracy” had replaced democracy in the state.

Ghosh’s comments come at a time when West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has been on the ‘Save the Constitution’ dharna for three days.

She joined the party in the presence of senior BJP leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad, Kailash Vijayvargiya and Mukul Roy.

“There is no democracy in West Bengal. ‘Crimocracy’ and ‘thugocracy’ have replaced it,” Ghosh told reporters.

Sources said Ghosh was once considered close to the state’s ruling dispensation but had a fallout later, adding that a case was also registered against her.

West Bengal’s Criminal Investigation Department is investigating a case of extortion against her.

There had been reports that Ghosh would join a political party.

The Indian Express had quoted her as saying, “I will definitely join a political party soon. When I followed their (TMC’s) instructions, I was hailed as an honest officer. The moment I started putting my foot down on things I thought were inappropriate, they initiated criminal cases against me. I am determined to give them (TMC) a befitting reply.”

Sources told the newspaper that Ghosh is likely to contest the Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal on a BJP ticket.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.