Kolkata, Sep 23 Two members of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress faction were arrested on Wednesday, a day after supporters of the group clashed with BJP workers in southeast Kolkata over the control of a local party office, a police officer said.
Following the clash, the TMC alleged that several of its workers and leaders were roughed up and molested, while the BJP termed the claim false.
Police said a confrontation broke out between the two sides on Tuesday over the control of a party office in the area, and they had to resort to baton-charge to disperse the crowd. Several TMC workers were reportedly hospitalised following the clashes.
Tension escalated after local TMC workers aligned with the party’s Mamata Banerjee faction took out a rally, demanding that a local party office, and now “forcefully occupied” by the BJP, be freed. They intended to submit a memorandum at the local police station.
The party alleged that shortly after the rally began, inebriated BJP workers attacked them, leading to scuffles. It also alleged that eggs were thrown at the Mamata Banerjee group’s IT cell head and other women workers.
The BJP, however, claimed that its workers were attacked without provocation during the rally. A BJP worker was allegedly recording the procession when some Trinamool supporters objected to it, leading to the scuffle.
A senior police officer said Sridib Das and Bikram Pandey were arrested based on a complaint received by the police and after examining the available evidence.
“We have arrested two workers of the Mamata party because of their alleged involvement in last evening’s clashes in Mukundapur. An investigation is underway, and appropriate action will be taken against anyone found involved in the incident,” the officer said.
The party’s ex-MLA and former IPS officer Humayun Kabir alleged that he was brutally assaulted by BJP workers when he was trying to reach the local police station where several party leaders were being held in the immediate aftermath of the clashes.
(PTI News)
