KOLKATA: A legislator of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has landed in serious controversy after allegedly assaulting a group of students in Nadia district of West Bengal on Sunday night.
The incident occurred just hours after a TMC councillor from North Barrackpore Municipality in North 24 Parganas district was arrested the same day for allegedly lynching an elderly man.
Bimalendu Singharoy, the TMC MLA from the Karimpur constituency, allegedly assaulted several students who were returning home on bicycles from a tutorial centre at Baliadanga village under Murutia police station.
According to allegations, the students failed to give way to the MLA’s car despite repeated honking by the driver, which reportedly enraged Singharoy. He is accused of physically assaulting some of the students on the spot.
The MLA allegedly got into a heated exchange with the students, including some girls. Later that night, agitating students along with local residents staged a protest in front of Singharoy’s residence, demanding that he come out and apologise.
Denying the allegations, Singharoy said, “The BJP was instrumental behind the incident as part of a plan to humiliate me in front of students. I was only speaking with them and did nothing wrong. I did not assault anyone.”
Local BJP leaders, however, said, “He is suppressing the facts. The students and local residents know what he did that night.”
The two separate incidents involving TMC leaders have put the ruling party in an embarrassing position ahead of the state assembly polls.
Earlier on Sunday, the Trinamool Congress suspended its councillor Rabindranath Bhattacharya for six years following a police complaint lodged by the family of Tulsicharan Adhikari.
Tulsicharan, an octogenarian, was allegedly lynched in the Barrackpore area of North 24 Parganas district after he protested against an illegal construction adjacent to his house.
The incident has rocked the locality, prompting the TMC leadership to suspend the councillor.
Paromita Adhikari, daughter-in-law of the deceased, alleged that Bhattacharya, councillor of Ward No. 23 under North Barrackpore Municipality, along with his associates, barged into their house on Saturday and brutally assaulted the elderly man and his son.
She further alleged that Bhattacharya abused the elderly man and kicked him in the abdomen, causing him to collapse. He died on the way to Barrackpore Cantonment Hospital.