Four people were arrested for allegedly attacking Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee during his visit to Sonarpur in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, police said on Sunday.
A senior police officer said the arrests were made during overnight raids based on video footage collected from the area.
The alleged attack took place on Saturday when Banerjee, the Diamond Harbour MP, visited Sonarpur to meet victims of post-poll violence.
A crowd reportedly hurled stones and eggs at him, shouted abuses and raised chants of “thief, thief”.
The situation escalated as unidentified individuals allegedly scuffled with Banerjee and roughed him up, with some in the crowd reportedly attempting to physically assault him by raining blows and kicks. Security personnel intervened swiftly and escorted him to safety. Banerjee was seen leaving the area wearing a cricket helmet and accompanied by aides.
Following the incident, Banerjee claimed that BJP activists had attempted to kill him.
Police said a case was registered suo motu as neither Banerjee nor the Trinamool Congress had filed a formal complaint till Sunday. The arrested individuals will be produced before a court in Baruipur, officials said.
Banerjee was later briefly admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata and discharged after receiving primary medical attention.
Reacting to the incident, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee blamed the BJP.
“RULERS BECAME KILLERS- shame on you BJP!” she wrote on X.
Senior TMC leaders, including Firhad Hakim and Derek O’Brien, visited the hospital where Banerjee had checked in.
Condemning the violence, BJP West Bengal president Samik Bhattacharya denied the party’s involvement.
“The BJP is not involved in such activities. But what happened could be the outcome of the anger of locals who were tortured over the years,” Bhattacharya said.
(With inputs from PTI)
