Former Kolkata Mayor Bhattacharya manhandled by mob, blames Trinamool (Lead)

Kolkata April 1 (IANS) Kolkata s former Mayor and veteran CPI-M leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said he was manhandled by a group of agitators in West Bengal s Hoogly district on Saturday.

Bhattacharya claimed goons of the ruling Trinamool Congress beat him up and stopped him from going to Hoogly s Bhabadighi village to hold a meeting with the local people as part of an apolitical democratic forum Save Democracy.

We were stopped on our way to Bhabadighi. Police had barricaded the road. A group of Trinamool Congress supporters attacked us. They dragged me out the car and pushed me to the ground in front of the police he said.

The Trinamool goons hit me and my co workers of Save Democracy and snatched my mobile phone. Even the females in our group were not spared.This is an unthinkable situation in a democracy he said.

The veteran Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader also accused the local police of not taking any action against the mob.

Police played the role of a silent spectator throughout. They made no efforts to stop the attack but requested us to go back from the spot. Police have completely failed in maintaining the law and order Bhattacharya added.

Rubbishing all the allegations on his party local Trinamool Congress MLA Manas Majumdar claimed that his party activists were in no way involved in the incident and the protest demonstration was done by the locals.

I have heard about the incident. However Trinamool Congress has no involvement in this. The locals who do not want unrest and provocation in the area stopped them he said.

District Superintendent of Police Sukesh Jain refused to comment on the issue stating he was busy.

Tension had been brewing since last month in Bhabadighi village with some residents agitating against the proposed construction of a railway track which they say will fill up a large section of a pond.

--IANS
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