Jalpaiguri, Sept. 20 -- Family members of Municipal Councillors of the Mamata All India Trinamool Congress (MAITMC) have alleged police inaction, claiming that no arrests were made even 24 hours after stones were allegedly hurled and gunshots fired outside their homes ahead of a proposed municipal board formation meeting in Jalpaiguri.

In the early hours of Saturday, several councillors alleged that masked men targeted their houses, issued death threats and fired shots into the air, warning them against attending the board formation meeting. Four councillors lodged written complaints at Kotwali Police Station, naming alleged BJP workers and supporters Alok Dutta, Rajkamal Saha and Krishna Das as accused. The BJP has denied the allegations.

The wife of councillor Tapan Banerjee alleged that a group of men threatened her husband, fired into the air and threw stones at their house, damaging an office window. "More than 24 hours have passed since we lodged a complaint with the police station, but not a single accused has been arrested. We are living in great fear," she said.

Ward 18 councillor Uttam Basu alleged that masked men arrived at his house around 1.30 am, abused his family and threatened to kill him if he attended the board formation meeting. He claimed CCTV footage showed Alok Dutta, Rajkamal Saha and Krishna Das among those involved. Ward 19 councillor Lopamudra Adhikari and Ward 1 councillor Neelam Sharma also alleged threats at their residences.

Jalpaiguri Additional Superintendent of Police Shrinivas M.P said: "The police have conducted a preliminary investigation based on the complaint. If anything emerges during the investigation, the police will take necessary action." BJP state general secretary Bapi Goswami denied the allegations and said no BJP worker was involved.

The incident came after the Calcutta High Court set aside the order appointing an administrator at Jalpaiguri Municipality. The councillors had planned to hold a meeting at the municipality on Saturday despite an administrative directive asking them to call it off. However, following the alleged attacks and security concerns, they did not proceed with the board formation. Tapan Banerjee said they would approach the court again over their inability to form the board.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.