Kolkata: A BJP Mandal president was allegedly attacked with sharp weapons by some goons when she was putting up posters for party candidate at Anandapur on Saturday night. Blaming TMC for the attack, hundreds of BJP workers staged a stir in front of Anandapur police station on Sunday.
The agitation was led by Debasree Chaudhuri, former Union minister and BJP’s MP candidate from Kolkata South.The agitators gheraoed the PS with party flags, shouted slogans and burnt tyres, demanding immediate arrest of the accused, including a local politician.
The injured BJP Mandal president in Kasba, Saraswati Sarkar, was also present at the police station during the protest. Sarkar alleged that she, along with some party workers, had been putting up poll banners at Anandapur’s Purbapara on Saturday night when some TMC-backed goons attacked them with sharp weapons.
“They first assaulted two party workers and as I tried to rescue them, they attacked me with sharp weapons,” Sarkar alleged. The BJP workers also alleged that cops had initially refused to accept the complaint but took it, buckling under pressure.
An officer of Anandapur PS said, “We have received the complaint and started a probe. We came to know that around 11.30 pm on Saturday, the complainants had a brawl with residents of a local slum when they were putting up posters.”
TMC has denied the charge. Susanta Ghosh, chairman of KMC’s borough 12 and councillor of ward 108, said: “As per EC norms, no campaign work can be done so late at night. BJP workers had already put up posters in other areas. If TMC workers were to stop them, they could have done it in other places too. It seems to be a fallout of BJP’s factional feud.”
Sarkar said, “I sustained injuries on head, hand, shoulder and knee.” On Sunday, Amit Malviya, BJP’s IT cell head and co-in-charge of Bengal, and Union minister Smriti Irani spoke to her over phone. “We won’t leave the police station till sections for attempt to murder are slapped and the accused arrested,” said Chaudhuri.