CPM candidate contesting against Mamata Banerjee’s nephew threatened and assaulted

Kolkata: As the battle of 2019 election heats up, the worse fear of political parties are coming true. The Diamond Harbour parliamentary constituency, where Communist Party of India (Marxist) has fielded Dr Fuad Halim, against the incumbent Member of Parliament – Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been attacked by Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters Tuesday evening. In the incident, at least six CPM workers, who were with Dr Fuad get injured.

“I along with 30 party men had to attend a meet at Shroter Pada but before we could reach the village, about 40 forty TMC goons attacked us with bamboo sticks and iron rods. In the incident, I and other party workers received injuries on our head and other parts of the body. They also molested our women party workers. They tore their clothes,” Dr Fuad told eNewsroom over the phone from Diamond Harbour.

Dr Fuad also mentioned that they had taken permission from the Election Commission for the meeting.

Watch the video of the incident

While a CPM party man Rajendra Prasad who had also been assaulted said that they have been threatened earlier also, “We have been threatened earlier too and had informed the police about it. Police had come to the place where the meeting had been scheduled but they left earlier, as everything appeared to be normal,” he said. However, he further alleged, “It was the attackers on whose words the police believed and left the place.”

Dr Fuad and six other other party men have been hospitalized and are undergoing treatment at Amtala Primary Health Center.

When Superintendent of Police Srihari Pandey, was contacted, he told eNewsroom, “Dr Fuad Halim had called me and I had told him to lodge an FIR, following which we will take appropriate action.”

Later in the evening, an FIR has been lodged at the Falta police station regarding the incident. However, there has been no reaction from TMC officials on the allegation. In the FIR some accused have been named.

Significantly, on April 3, eNewsroom had carried an interview of Dr Fuad, in which the CPM candidate had apprehended that TMC could use muscle power in the election.

However, it needs to be noted that recently, the Superintendent of Police Sulvamurugan had been transferred from Diamond Harbour under the direction of Election Commission.

The votes will be cast on May 19 for Diamond Harbour seat.

Meanwhile, one more CPM Lok Sabha candidate, from Burdwan West Lok Sabha constituency Gouranga Chatterjee has also been assaulted. Taking the attacks into account CPM has registered a complaint with the Election Commission about the incident.