A BJP leader was allegedly attacked with a “sharp weapon” on her head while she was putting up posters with her party colleagues at Anandapur in support of the South Kolkata BJP candidate, Debasree Chaudhuri, on Saturday night.
Allegations have surfaced against supporters of the Trinamool Congress, following which BJP members held protests outside Anandapur police station demanding the arrest of the accused men. The protests continued till late on Sunday evening.
Saraswati Sarkar, a leader of the BJP Kasba Mandal in the South Kolkata Lok Sabha constituency, said she and her party colleagues were attacked with a sharp weapon at Anandapur’s Purbapara, off EM Bypass, around 11.30pm on Saturday.
Sarkar said she was attacked on her head.
“Some supporters of local Trinamool Congress leader Susanta Ghosh came and started disturbing us when we were putting up posters in support of our candidate Debasree Chaudhuri. They tried to stop us. When we resisted, one of them took out a sharp weapon that looked like a knife and hit me on my head,” she said.
“A few moments later, I felt blood all over my face and neck. I realised that my head was badly hit.”
Videos have emerged showing Sarkar, covered in blood, visiting a police station.
Two men have been arrested in connection with the attack. Police identified them as Gour Hari Gayen, 28, and Asraf Molla, 29. “An inquiry is on,” an officer said.
Chaudhuri, the South Kolkata BJP candidate, later called on Sarkar and went to Anandapur police station, demanding the arrest of the accused.
Ghosh, Trinamool Congress councillor of Ward 108 and chairperson of Borough XII of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, said: “I want those who hit her to be punished, but the police should find out who these people (the attackers) actually are.
“They (Sarkar and her party colleagues) are saying they were putting up banners from Chowbhaga. If we had any intention to create trouble, we could have done it when they started putting up banners. Why would we do it later? I also wonder what political programme can there be at 11.30pm. My sources tell me that there was a clash between the BJP workers and residents of a slum. The clash is being politicised.”