Kolkata, July 5 -- Office-bearers of the Posta Bazar Merchants' Association (PBMA) have alleged that the attack on its general secretary, Biswanath Agarwala, was carried out by a group of traders who had earlier been removed or expelled from the association for allegedly attempting to use it for corrupt practices.
According to PBMA president Sitanath Ghosh, he and the other office-bearers are still unaware of the exact motive behind Thursday's attack. However, he claimed that those involved were either former members who had left the association or had been terminated or expelled earlier.
"It is a non-political platform. We are unable to understand why such an incident occurred. A few former members, who had allegedly misappropriated funds and were later removed from our executive committee, were involved in the assault. Our immediate demand was strict action against the offenders. Around 27 organisations operating in and around the market supported us. The police administration acted promptly and arrested four persons," Ghosh said. He further said that local MLA Purnima Chakraborty contacted the association after learning about the incident and requested the office-bearers to withdraw the indefinite strike. "Since it was very late on Thursday night, we could not convene a meeting. On Friday, after a meeting was held, it was decided to withdraw the indefinite strike," Ghosh added.
Regarding the association's future course of action, Ghosh said the PBMA would hold discussions with the 27 supporting organisations, including local labour associations, and is likely to submit a memorandum to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.