Mrinalini Mandal Maiti, the district president of the women’s wing of Trinamul in Malda, who is also the head of the Old Malda panchayat samiti, is in the eye of a storm with a photograph of her seated in her official chamber with a “pistol” in her hand surfacing on social media.

Mrinalini, however, has claimed the “pistol” is actually a gas lighter that a Trinamul leader had given her about a year ago and she had merely posed with the “fake weapon”.

The paper has not independently verified the authenticity of the picture.

However, the picture has left district Trinamul leaders red-faced, because chief minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee is on a visit Malda and staying at Mahananda Bhavan located in Old Malda.

Mrinalini said she did not understand why an “old photograph” was brought to the fore when the chief minister was in Malda.

“I believe Mukleshar Rahaman, husband of a member of the panchayat samiti which I head, has played a role in making the photograph reach social media because he had clicked my photograph with the pistol-like lighter in my hand,” she said.

She filed a complaint at Maldaha police station and accused Rahaman of plotting against her.

Police confirmed the complaint and said they were probing the allegations.

The BJP, however, lost no time to highlight the picture as an example of Trinamul’s “gun culture”.

“She (Mrinalini) is not the only example. A few days back, another local Trinamul leader was arrested for practising shooting in public. These people know only the language of arms and violence. We believe that the chief minister will understand how these leaders are exploiting their chairs,” said Gobinda Chandra Mandal, the district BJP president A section of Trinamul leaders are also disappointed with Mrinalini’s “unseemly” photograph.

A public representative should act responsibly, particularly while sitting in office, they said.

“It is up to the police to probe if it was an original or a fake firearm. But the message that is being conveyed through the photograph is undesirable,” said Krishnendu Choudhury, a state general secretary of Trinamul.

Mrinalini had been earlier caught in another controversy, her party colleagues said.

“Her husband had been accused of assaulting a government employee. He was also seen taking money from a contractor too, using his wife’s official position,” added a Trinamul leader.

The controversy, sources said, might lead to deletion of Mrinalini’s name from the list of people who will attend the chief minister’s district administrative review meeting on Wednesday.

Mamata, who is scheduled hold the review meeting for Malda district, will later on Wednesday head to Murshidabad.