KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Sunday broke her silence on the Bhabanipur incident, claiming it was a ‘planned attack’.
The remarks came a day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) suspended one deputy commissioner (DC) and three other officers, including an officer-in-charge (OC) of Kolkata Police, in connection with clashes between the ruling party and opposition BJP during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the Bhabanipur Assembly constituency on Thursday.
While addressing an election campaign rally in Jiaganj in Murshidabad district on Sunday afternoon, the Trinamool Congress supremo alleged that the BJP had brought outsiders and organised trouble in Bhabanipur in the name of filing nominations. It was a ‘planned attack’, she alleged.
“The attack happened in front of my house in Bhabanipur. They spat on my poster and were displaying shoes targeting Abhishek Banerjee’s nearby residence. The locals staged protest against the indecent and unruly behaviour of the BJP. It’s not politics. They had brought outsiders in name of filing nominations,” Mamata alleged.
Mamata’s residence is hardly one km away from Hazra crossing in Bhabanipur.
Besides the suspensions, the ECI also initiated disciplinary action against the four officers, Siddhartha Dutta, DC II (South Division); Priyankar Chakraborty, OC, Alipore; Chandi Charan, additional OC, Alipore; and Sourabh Chatterjee, sergeant. The action was taken following recommendations from Agarwal on Thursday, the letter stated.
Ajay Nand, Commissioner of Police, Kolkata, on Friday issued show-cause notices to two DCs, Dutta and Manas Roy (Reserve Force), for alleged dereliction of duty during Shah’s visit on Thursday, when he accompanied Suvendu Adhikari to file his nomination from the Bhabanipur constituency.
Police have also registered three FIRs in connection with Thursday’s disturbances. Two cases were registered suo motu by the police, while one was lodged based on a complaint from the returning officer concerned in the constituency.
“All three FIRs are against unknown persons. Two have been registered at Alipore police station and one at Kalighat,” sources said.
During Shah’s visit to Kalighat, a large number of people allegedly belonging to the Trinamool Congress gathered on the sidelines, waving black flags and shouting “Go Back”. Some also allegedly displayed shoes and slippers to the central minister as a mark of protest.
At another location, near the Survey Building in Alipore, where the BJP was holding a public meeting with formal permission, a group of Trinamool supporters allegedly barged in without intimation. A melee ensued, escalating into a clash between supporters of the two parties.
Dutta and Roy were in charge of the two venues. Dutta was on duty at the Survey Building, where Adhikari and three other BJP candidates from Rashbehari, Ballygunj and Chowringhee seats filed nominations, while Roy was posted at Kalighat when the disturbances were reported.
Cases have been registered under sections related to criminal intimidation, verbal abuse and endangering “Z-plus protectees”.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, expressing his displeasure over the Bhabanipur incident, held a virtual conference with Agarwal, senior officials of the state CEO office, top bureaucrats of the state, the Director General of Police (DGP), and the Kolkata Police Commissioner.
Kumar had pulled up Nand for the incident. After being reprimanded by Kumar on Thursday, Nand issued show-cause notices to Dutta and Roy, seeking clarifications on the disturbances during Shah’s visit to Bhabanipur.