West Bengal Trinamool Congress MLA Madan Mitra narrowly escaped an aggressive midnight assault on Saturday as his vehicle was swarmed, vandalised, and pelted with eggs by an armed mob in Ward 14 of the Kamarhati municipality in North 24 Parganas district.
The senior TMC leader later went on Facebook Live to recount the harrowing ordeal, stating, “I saw death right in front of my eyes.”
The incident unfolded late on Saturday night when the Kamarhati MLA headed to the area upon receiving reports of intense protests outside the residence of Ward 14 Councillor Arindam Biswas. Locals had been demonstrating since the evening over allegations of “cut money” (illegal commissions and extortion) against the councillor.
However, as Mitra arrived to defuse the situation, the agitated crowd turned its fury towards him.
According to Mitra, a mob of 100 to 150 people armed with iron rods, sticks, and sharp weapons surrounded his car, chanting “chor chor” (thief, thief). The attackers allegedly dragged Mitra’s driver out of the vehicle and assaulted him before pelting the car with eggs and smashing its windows.
A video of the midnight rampage, showing the vandalism and egg-pelting, has gone viral on social media, though its authenticity has not been independently verified.
Mitra said he survived the hour-long onslaught only after a group of local women and Biswas intervened, hiding him inside a dark room to shield him from the mob.
In the Facebook video, the Kamarhati MLA rejected a narrative that played down the incident. “I feel ashamed that people are saying I was attacked with eggs, whereas the anti-socials shouting BJP slogans and Jai Shree Ram had revolvers, iron rods, and all kinds of sharp weapons,” Mitra said. “They were shouting and screaming to kill me.”
Blaming BJP-backed goons for the assault, Mitra said, “As a member of the West Bengal Assembly elected by the people, I demand immediate arrests. I demand that the Barrackpore commissioner of police and the DGP arrest everyone who came to murder me.”
The police have initiated an investigation into the violence and stepped up security in the area.
Meanwhile, a TMC councillor of Ward 101 in Patuli, Bappaditya Dasgupta, was arrested on Saturday night following the arrest of his aide and TMC youth leader Saurav Ghosh for alleged involvement in extortion and criminal intimidation.