Stones, slippers, mud: What happened when Mamata’s SUV was surrounded in West Bengal
Times of India | 10 August 2026
KOLKATA: Former West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee came under attack in Halisahar, North 24 Parganas, on Sunday afternoon when protesters surrounded her SUV and allegedly hurled stones, bricks, mud and slippers at it.
Banerjee was in Pramodnagar to meet the family of Birju Keot, a TMC worker who died in police custody late on Friday. As her white SUV reached the area, protesters raised “chor, chor” (thief) and “dakat rani” (dacoit queen) slogans. Water and mud were also allegedly thrown at her.
Police formed a cordon around the vehicle and later escorted it out of Halisahar.
“I could have died,” Banerjee said, alleging that the attack could have caused a fatal head injury.
“Had the windows been open, I could have suffered a fatal head injury. I have never witnessed such an attack. The police remained silent spectators,” she said.
Later, Banerjee told reporters, "My car has been attacked with stones, shoes and mud. This is nothing but a conspiracy. I had informed the police that I would be coming, but despite that, no security measures were taken."
"Forget security. The police are protecting lumpens. Bengal has fallen into the hands of lumpens. We will file a case," she said.
She alleged that large bricks were also thrown at her vehicle.
"My head could have been smashed. We could have died here. The police are protecting the BJP," she said, accusing Adhikari, who holds the Home portfolio, of using the police and alleged mafia elements to run the state.
Banerjee also claimed that BJP supporters were threatening the deceased worker's family.
Banerjee had travelled to Pramodnagar to meet Birju Keot's family. Keot was the husband of Jenny Sharma Keot, a former TMC councillor of Kanchrapara.
Keot was arrested on Friday on allegations of extortion and assault and was remanded in Halisahar police custody for five days. Police said he was found lying unwell inside the lock-up early on Saturday and was rushed to hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
His wife, Jenny, alleged that he was assaulted inside the lock-up and claimed that visible injury marks were present on his arms and legs.
An officer of Barrackpore Police Commissionerate said: “We are awaiting the post mortem report to ascertain the exact cause of death.”
Keot's elder brother said the family was not seeking justice from Banerjee.
“We demand justice from the local police administration and seek exemplary punishment for those responsible for my brother’s death in custody,” he said.
Banerjee said she had spoken to Birju's wife on Saturday and again on Sunday, but alleged that “the local BJP MLA kept intimidating her”.
Despite the protests, Banerjee met Birju's wife and also spoke to his elder brother. She was accompanied by TMC Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee, Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen and Upasana Chowdhury.
The BJP denied involvement in the attack while saying the protest reflected public anger against Banerjee.
West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said: “People may raise slogans or show black flags to any neta or minister. But if shoes and stones are hurled at the vehicle of a former CM, it is highly condemnable.”
Bhattacharya added that the BJP had no distant connection with the attack.
He also said: “Such an incident, if it has happened, will blacken the face of West Bengal in the future. We condemn the incident and, if such an incident has taken place, the police under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari will immediately take action against those responsible.”
State minister Agnimitra Paul also condemned the incident and said such an attack was neither Bengal's nor the BJP's culture.
“Yes, Mamata Banerjee has made many mistakes; there has been oppression for 15 years, women were not respected and there was theft. But that does not mean you will throw mud at her, call her a thief or put a garland of shoes on her! Strict action will be taken,” she said.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari ruled out any BJP angle behind the attack and praised the police for supporting Banerjee.
Adhikari said: “The police team, led by a senior DC, supported her properly. I didn’t see any familiar face from BJP, nor any BJP flag. If someone seeks help from you, do so by all means. But do not go somewhere unnecessarily and do something that disrupts normal life.”
He questioned Banerjee's decision to visit Halisahar and accused her of “playing politics on a holiday, accompanied by a lawyer”. He also asked whether she was entitled to the “extensive security arrangements” that were in place.
Adhikari alleged that Banerjee had gone to Halisahar without being invited by the deceased worker's family and claimed that the family was satisfied with the police and administration.
"Do not do this when the family is shutting the door. You are saying you will enter by force. Do it when people seek your help or intervention. This is the time for development. Do not go anywhere and do anything that disrupts normal life," he said.
Adhikari also questioned why Banerjee had not visited the family of the RG Kar rape-murder victim, referred to by protesters as 'Abhaya', on the second anniversary of her death.
"You could have gone to Abhaya's house today. You could have gone to Ratna Debnath with a towel around your neck and apologised, saying you had made a mistake and asking for forgiveness. I believe she would have forgiven you," he said.
Ratna Debnath, Abhaya's mother, is now a BJP MLA. She had earlier said she contested the elections to fight for justice and accused Banerjee of failing to save her daughter.
Adhikari also said: "You (Banerjee) killed Abhaya, went to destroy evidence and tried to buy her family with Rs 10 lakh. If people threw mud at your car, what else would they throw? Flowers?"
BJP MLA from Bijpur, under which Halisahar falls, Sudipta Das also accused Banerjee of seeking political mileage from the death of the TMC worker.
"This is Mamata Banerjee's old politics. Just as a vulture looks for a carcass, she too looks for a death in West Bengal and tries to find a way to remain in the media. She has become politically irrelevant," Das said.
Das said he was ready to provide legal assistance to the family over the alleged custodial death.
TMC spokesperson Krishanu Mitra condemned the alleged pelting of stones and mud at Banerjee's vehicle as "extremely ugly and condemnable" and linked the incident to the custodial death.
Kalyan Banerjee alleged that Adhikari was "running the state through the police" and using alleged mafia elements for political purposes. Dola Sen accused the administration of failing to protect the former chief minister and her entourage.
The confrontation came amid a wider political clash over Birju Keot's death in police custody, with rival camps trading allegations of public anger, political conspiracy and administrative failure.
The incident also brought back memories of recent protests targeting the TMC leadership. Banerjee faced "chor-chor" slogans outside the Calcutta high court in June, while her nephew and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee faced protests during a visit to Sonarpur the same month, with demonstrators allegedly pelting his convoy with eggs and raising similar slogans.
Trinamool MLAs have also called for a protest in the Assembly and “dared” rebel lawmakers to join their stir.