Jayant Singh, who allegedly led his men in attacking Sayandip Panja and his mother, was identified through CCTV footage.
Hitting out at the TMC over the attack on the mother and son, BJP leader Sajal Ghosh said that “everything is a planned drama”. “ He is the second Sheikh Shahjahan. TMC leaders have been sheltering him. Some leaders then convinced him that since people were angry he should surrender himself and stay in custody for 7-8 days after which he would be released,” said Ghosh.
Ghosh was referring to TMC Zila Parishad member Shahjahan, who was accused of land grabbing and sexually abusing local women in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district. He is under arrest now.
CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty also highlighted the TMC’s failure to arrest Jayant Singh. “Is it an arrest or is it being shown that he is caught? That’s a big question,” Chakraborty said.
He said Singh dared to attack the family due to his proximity to influential TMC leaders, adding that the ruling party survives on criminals such as Shahjahan and Singh.
Claiming that a section of Bengal police had surrendered before the TMC, Congress leader and spokesperson Soumya Aich Roy said, “What was Police Minister Mamata Banerjee doing? Was she trying to influence anyone? Why didn’t the police arrest him for four days?”
However, TMC leader Jay Prakash Majumdar defended the party, saying it has zero tolerance towards criminals. “Such arrests and surrenders are proof of the TMC’s zero tolerance towards criminals. The BJP is talking big. Let me ask where is that baba who is responsible for the death of 121 people in Uttar Pradesh?” asked Majumdar.
The 121 people were killed in a stampede in UP’s Hathras on July 2 after a satsang by a local preacher, Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari aka Bhole Baba.
In West Bengal, there has been a disturbing surge in mob attacks within the last few days. On June 30 a video showing a couple being brutally assaulted in Chopra block surfaced, and days after, the teenage student and his mother were assaulted by Singh and his aides in Ariadaha.
According to sources, Jayant Singh, allegedly backed by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), along with his associates, attacked the student with sticks and bricks right outside his home. When the boy’s mother intervened to protect him, she was also mercilessly beaten. Both victims sustained severe injuries and required hospitalisation.