Kolkata, Nov. 10 -- Kolkata Police on Tuesday conducted a crime scene reconstruction with three arrested accused in connection with the violence outside MAITC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee's Kalighat residence, even as Abhishek alleged that those actually involved in the attack remain at large while innocent people are being arrested amid political vendetta.
Under heavy security deployment, the three accused, identified as Md. Tauqir Alam, Md. Ershad alias Tipu and Shreedip Das, were taken to 121 Kalighat Road to recreate the sequence of violence that erupted late on Friday night.
According to sources, the exercise was aimed at verifying their statements against CCTV footage recovered from the area. Investigators retraced how a gathering for Abhishek's birthday descended into a clash involving stone-pelting, vandalism and attacks on on-duty police personnel.
Meanwhile, Abhishek, in a social media post on Tuesday, questioned why Kolkata Police had failed to arrest the person accused of slapping a plainclothes police officer during the violence. Identifying him as Ratikanta Behuria, he shared the accused's photograph and another picture showing him with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Questioning who was protecting Behuria and why he continued to remain free, Abhishek challenged the BJP government's much-publicised "encounter model", asking whether its rules changed depending on political connections. He also demanded an explanation from the Kolkata Police Commissioner.
The Detective Department of Kolkata Police officially took over the investigation into the cases registered in connection with the violence on Tuesday.
The clash outside Abhishek's residence during his birthday celebrations late on Friday night left several people injured. Former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee subsequently alleged that there was a conspiracy to kill Abhishek.
Four FIRs were registered at Kalighat police station, including two suo motu cases initiated by Kolkata Police over rioting, public disruption and obstruction of public servants performing
their duties.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.