A micro observer was allegedly slapped and punched in Kumarganj in Dakshin Dinajpur on Saturday evening, while he was visiting the area as part of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) related work.
According to local sources, the micro observer, identified as Dibyendu Gorai, was allegedly attacked by unknown miscreants, police said.
Gorai was rescued by the locals in the area and taken to the Block Development Officer’s (BDO) office.
While the police arrived at the scene shortly after, neither the police nor the administration officially confirmed the physical assault.
A video of the alleged attack has since gone viral on social media.
The incident has led to significant unrest in the area, with the police launching an investigation into the matter.
Security has been beefed up at the Kumarganj BDO office, and combat forces have been deployed.
District Superintendent of Police Chinmoy Mitta assured a thorough investigation.
The BJP, meanwhile, has accused Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters of carrying out the attack, claiming it was a direct assault on democracy.
Union Minister of State Sukanta Majumdar strongly condemned the incident on social media, stating that TMC-backed miscreants carried out the attack out of fear of defeat.
“The incident is a direct assault on democracy. We demand the immediate arrest and strict punishment of those involved,” he said.
“BLOs are close to TMC and in many cases it has been noticed that due to typing of BLO names have emerged differently…there are many BLOs who have got jobs using their TMC source. Despite that in Bengal only 54 lakhs will be deleted whereas in UP it is more than 2 crore. The incident is carried out by TMC backed miscreants,” Majumdar said.
The TMC, however, has dismissed the BJP’s allegations, with local leader Subhash Chaki claiming that the party was not involved in the incident and alleging that the public reacted due to the micro-observer’s own behavior.
“Whatever it is, slapping someone cannot be justified. But I have only one question: in 13 states SIR is being held but only Bengal has a micro observer. In the name of micro observers and logical discrepancies people of Bengal are being harassed.. people here are not fools,” said TMC spokesperson Aroop Chakraborty.