KOLKATA: The BJP’s IT cell head Amit Malviya posted a video on social media purportedly showing a TMC leader hiding under his bed to escape a furious crowd, and said the “cut-money scam” in West Bengal was “producing scenes straight out of a political farce” on Thursday .He said the video was from Cooch Behar district’s Mathabhanga, and locals had surrounded the residence of TMC leader Shahidul Miya, accusing him of extorting Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 from beneficiaries of government housing schemes, according to news agency PTI.Malviya said on X that “as investigations tighten and arrests mount, those who once exploited the poor are finding it increasingly difficult to hide, even under a bed”.“The cut-money scam in West Bengal is now producing scenes straight out of a political farce,” the BJP leader wrote on X.“As public anger erupted, the TMC leader hid under his bed to escape the furious crowd. Eventually, police had to rescue him from his hiding place,” Malviya wrote along with the video he posted on X.PTI could not independently verify the veracity of the video.The BJP leader also said, “From Kakdwip to Namkhana and now Mathabhanga, the story remains the same: cut-money, corruption, and panic.”This came after several people in Mathabhanga in Cooch Behar district last week reportedly got back the “cut-money” they had paid to local toughs for availing benefits of government schemes during the previous TMC regime.Accoridng to news agency PTI, the district TMC leadership said the party has nothing to do with such illegal collection of money from villagers or traders.After the BJP came to power in the state, demands for the return of “cut money” allegedly taken by local toughs linked to the TMC increased in several parts of Mathabhanga, leading perpetrators to return at least some of the money.In another such incident, a TMC panchayat member returned Rs 5,000 each to 45 villagers at Patibunia village in Namkhana area of South 24 Parganas district.
