Kolkata: 4 arrested in attack on TMC councillor’s office in Garia

Kolkata, Jun 22 (PTI) Four people were arrested on Sunday for allegedly vandalising the office of a TMC leader in south Kolkata’s Garia area, police said.

Armed men vandalised the office of Pintu Debnath, who is the councillor of ward 1 of Rajpur-Sonarpur Municipality, near the Garia station on Friday night. Three of his supporters were also injured in the attack, they said.

Those arrested were identified as Tukai Josh, Asit Halder, Gopal Debnath and Tarak Das. They were all named in the FIR lodged in connection with the vandalism, police said.

Debnath claimed that the accused were BJP workers but before the elections, they had tried to join the TMC.

“We did not entertain their plea to join the TMC, but they participated in our rallies on their own. They are all involved in unlawful activities in the area. After the elections, we asked them not to come to the party office, and made it clear that we don’t want them,” he said.

“Perhaps they were frustrated as their plan to use TMC for continuing their illegal activities was foiled, and in retaliation, ransacked our office with arms,” he added.

Debnath said two more people were involved in the attack, and they are yet to be caught.

“They raided our party office with bamboo poles, sticks, rods and revolvers. How can such people be TMC workers?” he said.

State BJP leader Sajal Ghosh claimed the incident was the result of a fight between two factions of the TMC over sharing the spoils of the booming construction business in the southern outskirts of the city.

“The statement of the TMC councillor clearly indicates that both the attackers and those attacked belonged to his party. BJP is in no way involved,” he said.

“Everywhere TMC leaders and their supporters are fighting to share the cut money, and more such incidents will come to the fore in the future,” he claimed.