A theatre actor-activist in Nadia’s Ranaghat was allegedly beaten up by a group of Trinamul workers on Sunday night for reportedly performing in a play critical of the governments in the state and the Centre.
Ranaghat Srijak’s latest production Koshai (Butcher) based on a poem penned by UAPA-accused eminent poet Pendyala Varavara Rao allegedly earned the wrath of Bengal’s ruling party.
The main actor of the play, Nirupam Bhattacharjya, 42, was allegedly assaulted on Sunday night near his residence at Anulia in Ranaghat where he set up a performance space named “Dakghar”.
Nirupam, a private tutor by profession, was allegedly beaten up around 11.30pm, a little after he returned home after the 21st show of the play at Halisahar in North 24-Parganas.
The accused, who include a gram panchayat member of Trinamul, also allegedly told Nirupam’s septuagenarian father, a retired schoolteacher, to ensure his son stopped all theatre-related activities on his residential premises. They also went on to advise the elderly man to send Nirupam to an “asylum” for the treatment of his mental state.
Late on Sunday night, Nirupam put up a Facebook post narrating the incident. On Monday morning, he lodgeda complaint with Ranaghatpolice station.
An officer of Ranaghat police told The Telegraph that a probe had begun against the accused persons.
Local sources and other theatre activists said trouble began for Nirupam, a former CPM party member, ever since he began performing in Koshai in November last year. The play adapted from Rao’s poem has been directed by Ichhapur-based theatre activist and playwright Subhankar Dassharma.
The plot involves a police officer and a butcher, who was booked under UAPA as a “threat” to the nation. The play also has references to recent incidents like the Bogtui massacre, the Hanshkhali gang-rape and death, the Hathras rape and other cases that caused embarrassment to both Mamata Banerjee and Narendra Modi.
“It was a planned attack since the play has a clear political statement about the present socio-political situation in the country. Ever since we began staging Koshai at my home, some local Trinamul activists have been threatening me. They tried to shut down my space and began threatening my father to force me to stop my activities,” Nirupam told this newspaper on Monday.
“On Sunday night they first abused me. When Iprotested, they beat me up. Later, they told my father to send me to an asylum as I have become mentally unstable,” he added further.
The four accused persons — local Trinamul gram panchayat member Debasish Kahar, and his party colleagues Sarajit Rishidas, Subham De and Debraj Mukherjee — refused to give any reaction.
However, some close associates of Trinamul leaders claimed that the space set up by Nirupam had created an “unhealthy” situation in the locality.
Trinamul’s Ranaghat organising committee president Debasish Ganguly said he was unaware of the incident. “But personally I believe in the freedom of expression even if it goes against my political faith,” Ganguly added.
Asked to comment on the alleged attack on Nirupam, eminent playwright Tirthankar Chanda told The Telegraph: “This is a very shocking incident. I will urge those who attacked Nirupam to reconsider whether they were doing justice to the next generation”.
The attack on Nirupam is not a one-off incident in Bengal. In December last year, theatre activist Amit Saha of Beliaghata-based Vidushak Natyamandali was assaulted by some Trinamul activists. The incident created an uproar in the cultural fraternity.
Theatre personalities such as Anirban Bhattacharya, Suman Mukhopadhyay and Riddhi Sen had demanded proper action against the offenders.
