KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress MLA and former West Bengal minister Jyotipriya Mallick was allegedly assaulted by a man who intruded into his residence in the Salt Lake area, a senior police officer said.
The man, aged around 30, was later arrested and is being interrogated, police added.
According to officers, the accused entered Mallick’s residence around 9 pm on Sunday and suddenly pounced on him, punching him in the lower abdomen and leaving him stunned.
As Mallick raised an alarm, his security personnel and others nearby rushed in and overpowered the attacker, who was then handed over to the Bidhannagar Police.
During interrogation, the accused reportedly told police that he was a resident of Habra in North 24 Parganas district and wanted to speak with Mallick about a job.
Mallick represents the Habra constituency in the West Bengal Assembly. Police said the man had been undergoing psychiatric treatment at a state-run hospital in Kolkata and had conducted several recces around Mallick’s house earlier in the day.
Speaking to reporters, Mallick said he initially believed the man was a visitor and was taken aback when the attack occurred.
“I am not sure if he was in an inebriated condition. I had never seen him before. It is unimaginable that someone from Habra would assault me,” the ruling party MLA said, describing the incident as an isolated case.
Mallick had previously been arrested by central agencies in connection with a corruption case around two years ago, when he was serving as the forest minister. The case related to his earlier tenure as the food and civil supplies minister. Following his arrest, he was removed from his post, and Birbaha Hansda took charge as forest minister.