Taking action in the case of attack on Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee in West Bengal on Saturday (May 30), the police have arrested at least five people. These also include two youths named Tapan Maiti and Akash who were allegedly seen in the video during the attack.
Abhishek Banerjee was attacked in Sonarpur in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district when he had gone to the area to meet one of the victims of post-poll violence, Sanju Karmakar, also a TMC worker.
Mob attacked Abhishek Banerjee
Abhishek Banerjee, who had gone to meet the victim’s family, was attacked by hundreds of people and threw eggs and stones at him. Along with this, slogans of ‘thief, thief’ were also raised. In the video of the incident, the TMC national general secretary is seen wearing a cricket helmet, accompanied by his aides and dozens of people chasing him. The crowd also tore his clothes.
People scuffled with the leader and assaulted him while raising slogans of ‘thief and thief’. The situation worsened in no time. After which the security personnel immediately intervened and somehow rescued them and brought them out of there.
Abhishek accused BJP
Abhishek Banerjee blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the attack on him. He said, ‘They wanted to kill me. The entire incident has been captured on camera. We will definitely inform the High Court about this. We will also tell the Governor about this. He said that ‘all this is sponsored by BJP. Look what they have done. This is their example of democracy. Not even a month has passed and there is no sign of the police. My head was saved narrowly. Luckily I was wearing a helmet. They tore my clothes and broke my glasses.
Mamta Banerjee also targeted
At the same time, former Chief Minister of West Bengal and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has raised questions on the security arrangements after Abhishek Banerjee’s claim that the police was not present there at the time of the attack on him. He also raised questions on the treatment given to Abhishek in the hospital. He asked, ‘If there was really no need for hospitalization, then why was he taken to ITU in the first place, why was he kept under observation for almost two hours and why was he advised to undergo several medical tests and scans?
He said that BJP leaders are putting pressure on hospitals and doctors so that Abhishek’s treatment is affected. He claimed that threatening phone calls were allegedly made to the hospital administration. He said that an administrator of the hospital told him that pressure was being exerted by the police. He alleged that doctors are also troubled by this situation, but pressure is being put on them.
‘Public anger must be vented somewhere’
Meanwhile, West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh condemned the attack on Abhishek Banerjee, but also said that this attack reflects the growing public anger against the former ruling party. He said that no one has the right to take the law into their hands. What happened to Abhishek Banerjee should not have happened.
Talking to the media, he said, ‘Whatever the public has been enduring for the last 15 years, they have been tolerating it. Every person has faced oppression. In such a situation, public anger must come out somewhere.
‘Why did you go there to become a hero…’
Ghosh also questioned Abhishek Banerjee’s decision to visit the area amid increased tension after the recently concluded assembly elections. He said, ‘Looking at the election results, you should have understood the situation. Why did you go there to become a hero? What would happen if someone tried to become a hero like this by roaming around with a convoy of 22 cars? The public has seen everything and they were just waiting for an opportunity. Why are you giving these opportunities to people?’ At the same time, BJP MP Soumitra Khan said that Abhishek himself is a thief, he is a dacoit, he is a terrorist. He said that cow dung water should have been thrown on it.
Leave a Reply