BJP woman supporter attacked and thrown to the ground; she blames Trinamool Congress

Five days after she was attacked twice allegedly by ruling Trinamool Congress members, a woman supporter of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) moved a local court in Barasat near Kolkata on Monday and said the police were reluctant to register her complaint.

Nilima Dey Sarkar, 48, said the police who watched her being attacked, were yet to take any step against those who had beaten her. District police chief C Sudhakar did not respond to queries.

On September 26, the day when BJP called a Bengal bandh to protest against the alleged police firing in Islampur a week ago, Sarkar was kicked and thrown to the ground twice in the space of 15 minutes.

While policemen were present in the first occasion, TV cameras were rolling in the second instance.

The incidents took place between 7:30 am and 7:45 am at Barasat rail crossing, about 26 km from Kolkata, where the saffron party workers were blocking rail tracks.

“I was kicked by Arshaduzzaman, who is a local panchayat leader. Within a few minutes, one of the ruling party workers who were out in the streets to oppose the bandh, hit me on the head with a stick and threw me on the ground,” said Nilima Dey Sarkar.

She alleged Arshaduzzaman turned towards her when she tried to save Prasenjit Bhattacharya, a party worker, who was being allegedly beaten up by Trinamool workers.

“I was attacked for the second time when some TV journalists present at the spot asked me about the assault,” she said on Monday.

She alleged that the police did not take any steps after her husband Prasad Chandra Dey Sarkar, a retired school teacher, and a few BJP workers lodged a complaint with the office of the superintendent of police on September 27.

Video clips of the two attacks have been widely shared on social media but Trinamool Congress leaders are yet to condemn the incident.

“Unless I get the entire information, I can’t make any comment. If necessary, we will issue a statement later,” state food minister Jyotipriyo Mullick, who is also the North 24 Parganas district president of Bengal’s ruling party, said on Monday.

“We have filed a petition with the court in Barasat. We will pursue this matter till the end,” said the victim’s husband Prasad Chandra Dey Sarkar.

Dey Sarkar was taken to Barasat district hospital after the twin assaults. She was released the next day after X-ray and CT scans were conducted. “The doctor administered five injections and gave me a heavy dose of painkillers,” she said.

Her husband said that she may have to be admitted to hospital once again. “She is complaining of persistent pain in the head. Her hands are swollen too,” he claimed.

She has left her home and has been staying with a relative since the attack.

The North 24 Parganas district is politically crucial for both the ruling party and challenge BJP. With more than 10 million population (2011 census), it is one of the largest districts in the country and accounts for 32 Assembly constituencies.

The BJP has often accused the TMC of running a ‘goonda raj’ while the ruling party says the saffron outfit deliberately creates trouble to suit its own narrative.

First Published: Oct 01, 2018 13:37 IST