KOLKATA: Three police stations were attacked by an unruly mob in the past 72 hours in West Bengal and in two of the incidents, the local leaders and supporters were found involved.
The involvement of the ruling party’s leaders and supporters in manhandling law-keepers happened at a time when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is attempting to revive her party following its debacle in the Lok Sabha elections.
Condemning the attacks on police, Trinamool’s secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said the leaders and the workers of the party must not mix administration with poll politics.
BJP’s general secretary in Bengal Sayantan Basu said attacking policemen was not expected.
"But it is happening because the police force lost its credibility for working at the behest of the ruling party,’’ he said. BJP’s state president Dilip Ghosh said the West Bengal police now needs the protection of central forces.
The first incident took place in the early hours of Monday after police rounded up three youths from Tollygunj area for consuming liquor sitting beside a public thoroughfare.
As news spread, Trinamool supporters from the area rushed to the station and manhandled the policemen.
In a similar incident in Malda, policemen were attacked following a road accident. The attackers were identified as Trinamool supporters from a nearby locality.
A police outpost in Siliguri was also attacked on Wednesday after the mishap on an arterial thoroughfare and the driver of the offending vehicle managed to get away.