Bhatpara violence: HC refuses urgent hearing to Arjun
Times of India | 29 March 2025
12 Bhatpara/Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Friday refused an urgent hearing to BJP neta and former MP Arjun Singh on his plea alleging harassment by police authorities. Singh claimed that his residence was attacked by miscreants on the intervening night of March 26 and March 27.
Singh was summoned for a fifth time by police on Friday in connection with an alleged shooting near Meghna Jute Mill at Bhatpara on Wednesday night. The incident left a jute mill worker, Mohammad Saddam alias Moinuddin, with serious bullet injuries.
Saddam's family accused Singh of shooting him following a clash between two groups of mill workers. They lodged an FIR against Singh and his associates at Jagaddal police station. Singh, however, said he was out of the state for personal work and did not respond to the summons.
Four persons arrested in the case were remanded in police custody for seven days by a Barrackpore court on Friday afternoon.
Singh's counsel in the HC, Moyukh Mukherjee, mentioned the matter before Justice Tirthankar Ghosh. Singh alleged that after the attack, one of the miscreants got injured while trying to flee and an FIR was lodged against the BJP neta at the behest of the culprit's family.
Singh's grievance was that while his police complaint was being sidelined, he was summoned to appear over a counter-complaint. He further claimed that police raided his house and made seizures. "This is absolutely mockery going on," his counsel submitted, stating that cops were acting on their "own whims and fancies".
The judge asked Mukherjee to file the case before the bench and thereafter mention the same, and only then would he consider it.
The clash, which took place around 10pm on Wednesday, saw bombs and bullets being fired near Singh's residence, ‘Majdur Bhawan'. Singh was initially summoned to appear at Jagaddal police station at 10am on Thursday but did not turn up. The police then issued another summons at 2pm, asking him to be present by 4pm. Singh, however, responded that such short notice was inconvenient.
In the afternoon, a police team visited Singh's residence and interrogated him for about an hour. After Thursday's questioning, the police summoned Singh thrice on Friday. He again skipped both appearances.
Defending his decision, Singh stated, "It is not necessary for me to appear whenever the police call. They have nothing to do, but I have work. I will go at my convenience. Right now, I am out for party-related work."
He added: "I have already informed them that I am accompanied by Z-category security personnel. I do not travel anywhere without CISF clearance. Despite this, they keep summoning me repeatedly."
A senior police officer of Barrackpore Commissionerate said: "The investigation is underway, and necessary action will be taken soon regarding Singh's repeated failure to appear."
Stay updated with the latest city news, Air Quality Index (AQI), and weather updates for major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Noida, and Bangalore on Times of India.