Raiganj: The West Bengal Police on Sunday registered a case after a video clip of a brutal assault on a couple allegedly engaged in an 'illicit relationship' went viral, sparking widespread outrage.
The man who was seen in the video beating up the two with a bamboo stick was allegedly a local TMC leader of Chopra in Uttar Dinajpur district where the incident occurred following a decision of a kangaroo court. PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video. The accused, Tajmul alias JCB, was arrested.
While the opposition BJP, Congress and CPM slammed the Mamata Banerjee government for the incident, the ruling TMC said the incident would be investigated. "Efforts are being made from certain quarters to spread misinformation about an incident in Chopra PS under Islampur PD. The fact is, police have promptly identified and arrested one person who had publicly assaulted a lady," the Islampur Police District said in a statement.
The statement said that the victim couple had been provided with police security. A case has been registered suo motu and an investigation has begun, it said. Islampur Police Superintendent Joby Thomas K earlier in the day said the police have watched the video clip on social media and have registered a case after verification.
The viral video clip showed the accused beating up the woman who grimaced in pain, as a large number of people were watching. He was seen pulling her by the hair and kicking her. The accused also thrashed a man with the stick.
"This is the ugly face of Mamata Banerjee's rule in West Bengal. The guy in the video, who is beating up a woman mercilessly... is famous for giving quick justice through his insaf' sabha and is a close associate of Chopra MLA Hamidur Rahaman," BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya said in a post on X, sharing the video.
He claimed that there is a Sandeshkhali in every village of West Bengal and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is a "curse for women".
"There is no semblance of law and order in Bengal. Will Mamata Banerjee act against this monster or defend him like she stood up for Sheikh Shahjahan?" Malviya said in the post.
Shahjahan is an arrested TMC functionary of Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district, where allegations of sexual abuse and land grab have been levelled against Trinamool Congress leaders.
Attacking the Mamata Banerjee government, CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim said in a post on X: "Not even #KangarooCourt! Summary trial and punishment handed out by d ?@AITCofficial? goon... Literally bulldozer justice at Chopra under ?@MamataOfficial? rule.
In a later post, Salim shared a video in which police personnel, along with the accused, were seen entering Islampur police station. He claimed, "As usual, the sentry guard was about to offer salute!"
State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged that attacks on ordinary people and the TMC's political opponents are continuing in West Bengal, though the Trinamool Congress won the Lok Sabha elections in the state.
"How can a woman be beaten up in this way? Attack on any woman is barbaric and deplorable, he said. Such incidents of violence are giving a bad name to West Bengal," the senior Congress leader said.
Local TMC MLA Hamidur Rahman denied he has any connection with the accused and distanced himself from the incident. He said it was a village matter and not related to the party. TMC district president Kaniyalal Agarwal attributed the incident to the couple's alleged illicit relationship, which "did not go down well with the villagers". He said that the party would investigate the episode.
TMC spokesperson Shantanu Sen condemned the incident but also pointed out that such kangaroo courts were common during the Left Front regime too.
