Chief minister Mamata Banerjee suffered ligament injuries to the left knee and hip joint when she reportedly alighted from her helicopter that made an emergency landing near Siliguri because of inclement weather on Tuesday afternoon.

Mamata boarded the chopper near Chalsa in Jalpaiguri district, where she had stayed on Monday night and reached Kranti to attend the public meeting.

“Around 1.20pm, she took the helicopter again and headed for Bagdogra. There was cloud cover but it didn't rain when the chopper took off from Kranti,” said a Trinamul Congress leader who attended the meeting.

When the helicopter was flying to Bagdogra, it started raining in and around Siliguri. The adjoining parts of Jalpaiguri district also experienced a downpour.

“The helicopter was flying above the Baikunthapur forest, which stretches from northeast to southeast of Siliguri when the rain started. It also brought down visibility, prompting the pilot to change the direction,” a source said.

The pilot contacted personnel of defence forces and headed northeast towards Sevoke, instead of Bagdogra which is in the northwest of Siliguri. The chopper made an emergency landing at the helipad of Sevoke Military Station, located on the outskirts of the city.

After the emergency landing, the chief minister was getting down when she suffered injuries. Her convoy arrived and she headed for Bagdogra airport — located 18km away — along NH10.

It was still raining and Mamata’s car moved into the apron, from where she boarded a special flight.

After Mamata arrived in Calcutta, she was rushed to SSKM Hospital. Doctors took her to Woodburn ward and conducted tests to ascertain her injuries.

Later in the evening, Manimoy Bandyopadhyay, the hospital’s director, said the chief minister had suffered ligament injuries to her left knee and hip joint.

“Specialist doctors have conducted certain tests, including MRI, to find out the nature of the chief minister’s injuries. It was found that she has ligament injury and fluid accumulation in her left knee. Also, there are marks of ligament injury in the left hip joint. The medications have started,” he said while reading out a health bulletin.

After examining her, doctors advised admission to the hospital. Mamata, however, said she would stay at home and continue the treatment. Around 9pm, the chief minister was escorted out of the hospital in a wheelchair. She boarded a car and left for home.

"She refused (taking admission) saying there were pressing needs and she would rather undergo treatment at her home," said a senior doctor. "Apart from prescribing medicines, she has been asked to take rest for some time for early recovery," the doctor added.

Governor C.V. Ananda Bose spoke to Mamata and enquired about her injuries. In a tweet, Bose said he was relieved to know that the chief minister was safe after the emergency landing of her helicopter.

State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said: “The chief minister is suffering leg injuries ahead of the polls. Whatever the Prime Minister said today could have increased her blood pressure. We wish her a speedy recovery.”

Trinamul minister Aroop Biswas said Majumdar's remarks were "insensitive" and "undesirable".