Kolkata, June 21 -- Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday questioned whether the police would act after his party alleged that an armed BJP leader was present at Kolkata airport ahead of his arrival from Delhi on Friday night.
On Friday night when Banerjee returned to Kolkata after meeting Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in Delhi, a heated exchange between TMC and BJP workers soon escalated into clashes and scuffles. TMC alleged that it was a pre-planned attack by the BJP which could have been a life threat for Banerjee.
Banerjee has posted on social media questioning whether the West Bengal Police would take action. Sharing images and a video of Uttam Das, a BJP leader, he alleged that the chronology of events made it evident who was behind the incident and claimed attacks on elected representatives were being systematically orchestrated. TMC's official social media handle also shared images alleging that Das was seen carrying arms at the airport and had previously been seen with CM Suvendu Adhikari in multiple events.
Uttam Das denied carrying any firearm and argued that if he had possessed one, police would have seized it and arrested him. However, he did not deny that BJP supporters present at the airport had eggs.
Meanwhile, police arrested five people in connection with the unrest - former South Dum Dum Municipality councillor Debasish Banerjee alias Fuchu, along with Alok Chakraborty, Shubhankar Chattopadhyay, Tina Mondal and Rima Biswas. Cases including attempt to murder, assault with deadly weapons, unlawful assembly, road blockade and criminal conspiracy have been registered and the accused have been remanded to three days' police custody.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.