South Dinajpur district Trinamul Congress functionaries have decided to approach senior police officers and the party leadership for action against those law enforcement officers who allegedly assaulted the party's Chopra MLA Hamidul Rehman.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the district committee on Monday. Trinamul leaders of Chopra block had earlier announced that they would boycott all political activities organised by Kanaialal Agarwala, the district president, and the district committee as a whole.
“An MLA was assaulted by police and central forces and yet, the district leaders remained silent on the issue,” a Trinamul leader of Chopra block had said while announcing the boycott decision.
Chopra is one of the two blocks in Bengal where Trinamul won all seats uncontested in the panchayat polls.
“We had a meeting yesterday (Monday) where we condemned the attack on the MLA. We will approach the inspector general of police (north Bengal), seeking appropriate departmental action against the police personnel who were involved in the assault. Also, letters will be sent to party leaders Abhishek Banerjee and Subrata Bakshi so that they also take up the issue with higher levels,” Agarwala said on Tuesday.
On July 12 morning, Rehman had tried to enter a counting centre in Islampur forcibly with some of his associates. The police and the central forces resorted to baton-charging and the MLA and others were injured.
Arrest warrant
The additional chief judicial magistrate’s court in Jalpaiguri on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant against Saikat Chatterjee, the Jalpaiguri district Trinamul youth president, in connection with the suicide of an elderly couple in the town.
Chatterjee, who is also the vice-chairperson of Jalpaiguri municipality, and three others were accused of abetting the suicide.
After his petition for anticipatory bail was rejected by the Jalpaiguri circuit bench of Calcutta High Court on June 16, the Trinamul leader has been in hiding.
There are reports that he is trying to get bail from the Supreme Court.
Based on a petition filed by the investigating officer of the case, the court issued the warrant on Tuesday.
