TMC leader gets bail within 12 hr of arrest
The Statesman | 20 September 2025Barui’s bail has triggered controversy raising the role of the police investigating the case.
A section of lawyers felt that Barui, who is a member of the gram panchayat and the president of the managing committee of the school, was granted bail today by court because police could not frame strong charges against him.
Barui was reportedly angered after an educational tour for students of the higher secondary level was arranged without informing him.
A video widely circulated on social media shows Barui assaulting the 56-year-old acting headmaster on Tuesday.
The Statesman has not verified the authenticity of the video clip in which Barui is seen attacking Pal inside the school campus, before chasing him out in front of students.
Pal later took shelter at the nearby SDPO office and was admitted to Kakdwip super-specialty hospital for treatment.
Police started an investigation after Pal lodged a formal complaint with the Harwood Point Coastal police station. Barui alias Bullet was arrested on Wednesday evening from the Canning railway station.
Sources requesting anonymity indicated that the dispute arose over the collection of money from students for the proposed educational trip. Barui wanted to know why the trip was planned and money was collected without informing him.
Pal told the media on Wednesday: “The Trinamul leader brought a document with several false accusations against me. He wanted me to sign that document, claiming I was collecting money from students without informing the management committee which was baseless. When I refused to sign, he hit me behind my neck, pushed me out of my office and continued to shove and hit me until he chased me out of the campus.”
Rubbishing the charges brought against him Barui, while speaking to the media before his arrest on Wednesday, claimed he acted in self-defence.
“He took money from students without informing the management committee. When I went inside his office to show him a receipt proving the collection, he threw it away. As I picked up the paper and asked him to sign on it, he pushed me and tried to hit me. I just tried to resist him in self-defence,” he said.
The oppositions BJP and CPI-M slammed the police administration soon after Barui was granted bail.
