A Trinamool Congress (TMC) councillor has been arrested for the death of an elderly man in his ward in North Barrackpore in North 24 Parganas district.
TMC councillor Rabindranath Bhattacharya allegedly hit 81-year-old Tulsi Adhikari during a protest against illegal construction in the Manirampur area of North Barrackpore on Saturday, leading to the latter’s death.
According to the residents, a protest against illegal construction on Saturday escalated into a physical confrontation when TMC councillor Rabindranath arrived at the scene.
Tulsi’s family alleged that Rabindranath kicked the elderly man after he intervened to protect his son Hemant Adhikari, whom the councillor allegedly assaulted first. Tulsi collapsed on the spot and was rushed to Barrackpore Cantonment Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Bhattacharya had earlier dismissed the allegations as “baseless and politically motivated”, claiming that it was he who was attacked.
“We are investigating the involvement of local leaders in the illegal construction that triggered the protest. The body of the deceased has been sent for a postmortem to determine the exact cause of his death,” a police officer said, adding the FIR has been filed for assault and unnatural death.
Later in the day, the Barrackpore sub-divisional court on Monday remanded Bhattacharya to seven days’ police custody in connection with the case.
The police have cordoned off the area and are reviewing CCTV footage from the scene of the confrontation.
They are also recording statements from eyewitnesses and neighbours.
Meanwhile, tension gripped Ward No. 23 of North Barrackpore following the arrest of the TMC councillor.
The ruling TMC has suspended Rabindranath for six years. Barrackpore MP Partha Bhowmick condemned the incident, saying the TMC would not stand by such conduct. “The party has suspended Rabindranath Bhattacharya. The law will take its own course. We don’t know how and why the TMC got involved in this,” the MP told mediapersons.
BJP leader and former MP Arjun Singh, who visited the area, alleged that the local police initially attempted to shield the councillor before public pressure mounted.
BJP workers, led by Singh and Barrackpore organisational district BJP president Tapas Ghosh, also marched from Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at Chiria More and reached near the Barrackpore court.
The BJP workers breached police barricades and staged a sit-in for some time, blocking traffic and triggering heated arguments and minor scuffles with police personnel.
“We are protesting the VIP treatment given by the police to the killer councillor,” Singh said.
“We are lifting the sit-in for the sake of students appearing for the Madhyamik (class 10 state board) examinations. But once the exams are over, we will launch a larger law-breaking movement if justice is not delivered,” Singh added.