Five persons were arrested, and two were detained by the West Bengal police for allegedly heckling and manhandling TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee in South 24 Parganas’ Sonarpur on Saturday afternoon, with BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar alleging that the accused are Trinamool Congress workers and known to be close to party leader Lovely Maitra.
A police officer said that seven persons were detained on the basis of security camera and news footage of the mob attack on the TMC national general secretary, HT reported earlier. Five of them were arrested after questioning.
Abhishek Banerjee sustained minor injuries after he was attacked with stones and eggs in Sonarpur, where he had gone to meet the families of post-poll violence victims.
Union minister and former BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said the arrestees were identified as TMC workers. “We have come to know that the accused are TMC workers and known to be close to Lovely Maitra. Let the police investigate,” he said, referring to the former TMC MLA from the Sonarpur South seat.
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However, Maitra refused the charge, saying that several women involved in the attack “are active BJP workers”.
She said the Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to present a planned attack as an outburst of local people’s dissent.
Meanwhile, TMC secretary Kunal Ghosh said that arresting the accused persons was the right thing, even if they are former Trinamool workers. “But why haven’t all those involved in the attack been arrested? Television footage showed stones being hurled at Abhishek,” he added.
‘Won’t cower down even if throat’s slit’
Abhishek Banerjee, however, alleged that BJP workers attacked his convoy during his visit to Sonarpur, claiming it was an attempt to kill him. He vowed to seek a legal solution in the Supreme Court.
He further alleged that the number of agencies acting against him had increased over time, claiming that the Bengal Police, Kolkata Police and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) have now been added to the list of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“They think they will send 5-6 agencies after me and blackmail me into cowering down. I am not a person like that. Even if you slit my throat or do anything you want, you will have to think 10 times and take 7 births to make me cower down. I am not a traitor,” Banerjee said.
“They wanted to kill me… The whole incident has been captured on camera. We will definitely let the high court know about this. We will also let the governor know about this… I will definitely move to court…” he added.
The TMC national general secretary further alleged that the authorities deliberately failed to intervene despite being informed about the situation by his security personnel.
