Five people were arrested, and two were detained by the West Bengal Police for allegedly harassing and manhandling TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee in South 24 Parganas in Sonarpur on Saturday afternoon, with BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar alleging that the accused are Trinamool Congress workers known to be close to party leader Lovely Maitra.
A police officer said that seven people were arrested on the basis of security camera and news footage of the mob attack on the TMC’s national secretary general, HT reported earlier. Five of them were arrested after being interrogated.
Abhishek Banerjee sustained minor injuries after being attacked with stones and eggs in Sonarpur, where he had gone to meet families of victims of post-election violence.
Union Minister and former BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said that those arrested were TMC workers. “We have learned that the accused are TMC workers and are known to be close to Lovely Maitra. Let the police investigate,” he said, referring to the former TMC MLA from Sonarpur South seat.
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However, Mitra rejected the charge, saying that many of the women involved in the attack were “active BJP workers”.
She said the BJP is trying to portray the planned attack as a revolution to oppose the locals.
Meanwhile, TMC secretary Kunal Ghosh said arresting the accused was the right thing, even if they were former Trinamool workers. “But why were not everyone involved in the attack arrested? Television footage showed Abhishek throwing stones,” he added.
“He will not kneel even if I cut his throat.”
However, Abhishek Banerjee alleged that BJP workers attacked his convoy during his visit to Sonarpur, claiming it was an attempt to kill him. He pledged to search for a legal solution in the Supreme Court.
He further claimed that the number of agencies working against him has increased over time, claiming that Bengal Police, Kolkata Police and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) have now been added to the list of Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
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“They think they will send 5-6 agencies after me and blackmail me until I tremble. I am not such a person. Even if you slit my throat or do anything you want, you will have to think 10 times and give birth 7 times to make me tremble. I am not a traitor,” Banerjee said.
“They wanted to kill me… The whole incident was caught on camera. We will definitely tell the Supreme Court about this. We will also tell the Governor about this… I will definitely move to court…” he added.
The TMC National Secretary General also alleged that the authorities deliberately failed to intervene despite being informed of the situation by his security personnel.
