A local woman TMC leader and her two associates allegedly beat up a 66-year-old former CPI(M) leader in the Kharida area of Kharagpur in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district on Monday morning after the latter protested against the demolition of a house of an old woman.

Anil Das, who currently runs an organisation ‘We Left, Kharagpur’, alleged that Babita Koley and her two woman associates were “torturing an old woman and blocking the entrance of her house” on Monday morning. When he protested, the TMC leader and her two aides beat him up.

“I was beaten on the street. Then, when I entered a shop to save myself, I was beaten there too. I somehow managed to flee,” Das said, demanding immediate arrest of Koley. Das, who sustained injuries, later filed a complaint against Koley at Kharagpur Town police station.

The senior citizen woman, Durga Sahu, whose house’s walls were allegedly broken by Koley and her associates, also filed a police complaint against her.

A video of the incident has also gone viral, in which three women are seen beating up an old man with their hands and slippers, tearing his clothes and pushing him on the road while passersby watch.

Condemning the incident, former Kharagpur MLA and TMC leader Pradeep Sarkar demanded strict action by police against Koley. TMC district president Sujoy Hazra said, “We strongly protest the way Anil Das was brutally beaten on the street. I demand exemplary punishment for those who are involved in the incident, including Babita Koley. Our party will not stand by them.”

District BJP leader Arup Das said, “We strongly protest the incident. Wherever someone protests against the TMC, they are attacked. This should be stopped.”