NEW DELHI: Photos of Shweta Khan, also known as Fultusi, who is accused of running a pornographic racket in West Bengal’s Howrah district, have surfaced online with several Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders. This has led to a political controversy, with the BJP attacking chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s government and raising questions about its stand on women’s safety. Shweta Khan and her son, Ariyan, allegedly operated a film production house where “soft pornographic reels” were created. Last week, both went into hiding after police began looking for them in connection with a case involving the forced detention and assault of a woman in the Domjur area, Howrah district. The woman was allegedly targeted after she refused to act in a pornographic film. Fultusi is said to have shown her political links on social media to influence people in her locality. She is now being linked to a local unit of the TMC’s minority cell and had posted photos with various political leaders while also participating in the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign.Also read: Unable to take family pressure, Howrah sex racket kingpin’s daughter killed self in 2021 The BJP, citing these photographs, has claimed that Shweta Khan is closely connected to the TMC. “This is Shweta Khan with TMC leader & ex minister Rajib Banerjee and Bengal minister Arup Roy. They ran the p**n racket for years, but Howrah Police wasn’t even aware! No wonder the mother and son are absconding, and the police can’t nab them,” said Keya Ghosh, the BJP’s Bengal media co-incharge in a post on X. BJP leader Agnimitra Paul also targeted Bengal’s ruling party, “For 6 months, a woman was forcibly kept under house arrest by another woman and her son and was pressured into shooting a pornographic film. She was subjected to mental and physical torture…We have seen photos of Mamata Banerjee’s minister Arup Rai, with the perpetrators. Today, you can do any illegal work in West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee says, ‘Bangla Nijer Meyekei Chay’ – Bengal wants her own daughter. But there is no honour and security for the daughters of Bengal. Police do nothing…” The case involves a 23-year-old woman from Sodepur in Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district. She was allegedly kept confined for six months and physically assaulted. The woman is being treated at Sagor Dutta Medical College and Hospital. She said she had injuries all over her body and had been assaulted and tortured for five months. An official told news agency PTI that the accused woman was also suspected of running a sex racket in the area. Police have begun a search for Shweta Khan and her son. Meanwhile, investigators on Monday said the accused mother-son duo has likely fled abroad, possibly to Thailand, based on initial findings.“The accused woman had visited the bank several times and withdrew money. It seems the funds were used to facilitate their plan to abscond. We suspect the woman and her son have escaped to Bangkok,” the officer was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.