KOLKATA: An elderly man died in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district after being allegedly assaulted by a TMC councillor for protesting illegal construction, his family alleged in a police complaint on Sunday.
The incident, which took place in the Barrackpore area of the district, has sent shock waves across the poll-bound state. Police arrested Rabindra Nath Bhattacharya, the TMC councillor of the North Barrackpore Municipality from Ward No. 23, after interrogating him based on a complaint filed by the kin of the deceased against him at the Barrackpore police station.
Tulsi Adhikari (80), the deceased, had reportedly been protesting the illegal construction in front of his house. He had also filed a complaint in this regard.
Paromita Adhikari, daughter-in-law of the deceased, has alleged that the councillor and his associates had barged into their house earlier on Sunday and thrashed the octogenarian and her husband brutally. The councillor allegedly abused the old man and kicked him in the abdomen. He fell on the ground and died on the way to the Chandra Bose Hospital in Barrackpore Cantonment, she claimed.
Before the arrest, the TMC leader had dismissed the allegations as “baseless and politically motivated.” “I did not assault anyone. I am being defamed for political reasons. Any death is unfortunate, but I did not hit him. Rather, they attacked me. The son of the deceased had grabbed my neck and pushed me. The CCTV footage will confirm that,” he claimed. The body has been sent for a post-mortem examination.
‘Kicked in the abdomen’
Paromita Adhikari, daughter-in-law of the deceased, has alleged that the councillor and his associates had barged into their house earlier on Sunday and thrashed the octogenarian and her husband brutally. The councillor allegedly abused the old man and kicked him in the abdomen. He fell on the ground and died on the way to the hospital, she claimed