All India Trinamool Congress president and former chief minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee on Sunday claimed her car was attacked by “goons” in Halisahar in North 24 Parganas district.
Event Context
The TMC president said she was on her way to visit the family of a deceased party worker when the incident took place, claiming she “could have…been killed”. Mamata said her vehicle was targeted with “stones, shoes and mud”, claiming that this happened before the police and warning that she would take legal action on the matter, PTI news agency reported.
The deceased TMC worker had died allegedly after falling sick in custody of the Halisahar police. Banerjee, during the visit to the worker’s family, was forced to pass through a police cordon amid the demonstration.
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Protesters in Bijpur in North 24 Parganas reportedly raised ‘chor (thief)’ slogans and gathered around Mamata’s car during her visit to the neighbourhood, PTI reported. The protesters also reportedly smeared mud on the TMC president’s vehicle, and alleged that she had come to “disturb” the peaceful area.
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Mamata termed the alleged attack as “nothing but conspiracy”, saying she had relayed information regarding her visit to the area to the police in advance. “Despite that, the police did not take any security measures,” PTI cited her as saying. She further added, “I have never seen anything like this. What is going on?… the police are providing protection to the BJP.” In response, the BJP claimed that Mamata had visited Kanchrapara to “provoke tensions”, and said the locals had protested against her presence in the area.
The deceased TMC worker, identified as Birju Keot, was arrested by the Halisahar police in connection with charges including extortion. Keot was the husband of former Kanchrapara municipal councillor Jeni Sharma Keot. He was produced before a court on Friday after his arrest, and was remanded to five days’ police custody, PTI reported.
Team Analysis
However, his death was reported earlier today, following which his wife claimed he was beaten inside the lock-up and died as a result of police assault. There was no immediate response from the police on the claim.
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Slamming the BJP and chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, Mamata said she had no anger at the police and claimed the force was being used at the behest of the state government, according to the PTI report.
Following the alleged attack, the former Bengal CM said “large stones” had been hurled at her vehicle by people she referred to as “anti-social elements.” “The attack on the vehicle was so severe that if the windows had been open, my head would have been split open. We could have all been killed,” she told reporters, according to ANI news agency.
