The family members of a local Trinamul Congress leader in Bhagabanpur in East Midnapore were allegedly roughed up by local residents on Saturday.
The attackers were primarily job-seekers or their relatives who accused Trinamul leader Shibsankar Nayek of taking money from them while promising them jobs.
Nayek was not at home on Saturday morning when the agitators barged in.
Nayek, a former member of the local panchayat samity, had allegedly received bribes totalling several crores from people between 2015 and 2016 in the name of giving them jobs.
His wife Malina, who is currently a member of the Bhagabanpur block-I panchayat samity, his son and daughter had to bear the brunt of the attackers’ ire. While Malina and the daughter were allegedly beaten up, the son was reportedly tied to a tree and thrashed.
A team from the nearby Bhagabanpur police station rescued the victims. Four persons have been arrested in connection to the incident.
“I don’t know why we were beaten up,” Malina said. “First they must prove that my husband has received bribes from them. They attacked us without proof. My children and I were beaten up like animals. If my husband has made a mistake, the administration will see to it. But why should they beat us like this?” she asked.
One of the agitators, Dipak Maity said that he had paid Nayek Rs 6 lakhs for the recruitment of his younger brother. “In 2017 when my father was ill I asked for a refund. He gave me Rs 2 lakh. My brother didn’t get a job. When I called him up for the rest of my money he would threaten to kill me,” Maity said.
Trinamul’s Contai organisational district chairman Abhijit Das said if someone extorted money against false job promises, the individual was solely responsible and Trinamul had nothing to do with it.
A local Trinamul leader from Bhagabanpur, Nantu Pradhan, was lynched about a year ago over similar allegations. Pradhan, a close aide of former state minister Partha Chatterjee, was accused of extorting money from his neighbours in exchange of promising them jobs.
