Kolkata, Sept. 9 -- Renowned Baul singer and Padma Shri recipient Purna Das Baul on Wednesday attended Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's 'Janata Darbar' at BJP's Salt Lake party office and alleged that his farmland in Birbhum has been "forcibly occupied" by a former Trinamool Congress strongman and his associates.

The veteran Baul singer was accompanied by his son Dibyendu, who alleged that the matter was taken up with the former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee but no steps were taken. "We had an ashram on our ancestral plot. After the Kopai trouble incident in 2008, the Ashram plot was changed and sealed. After Trinamool Congress came to power, we had sent letters to the then Chief Minister's residence and Nabanna as well. But no steps were taken.

"Since the day of lockdown in 2020, my farmland at Ilambazar has remained occupied by people who had influence in the region", the internationally acclaimed singer said. Asked whether he was referring to Anubrata Mondal, the former Birbhum district president of the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and currently associated with the rival faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee, the singer's son replied in the affirmative.

While Purna Das Baul did not name the person allegedly occupying his land, his son identified him as 'Kesto Mandal' and alleged that he was accompanied by 'Sheikhs' involved in the land grab.

Purna Das Baul was among more than 100 people who attended the 'Janata Darbar'. Somnath Malo, a Nadia resident and a gold medallist at the 2002 South Korea Paralympics, also attended the programme. He was carrying the medal he had won while representing India. Malo was among the 26,000 teaching and non-teaching staff who lost their jobs in the 2016 SSC recruitment case following orders from the Supreme Court and Calcutta High Court that invalidated the recruitment process.

He told reporters: "Due to the corruption in the earlier Trinamool Congress government's teaching and non-teaching recruitment, I am staring at an uncertain future and facing starvation. I hope the people's Chief Minister Adhikari will do something to end our misery."

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