By Sirshendu Panth , IANS,
Kolkata: File police complaints against prominent opponents to score brownie points in the coming rural polls – this now seems to be the motto of West Bengal’s political parties.
Known for their bitter animosity towards one another, the ruling Trinamool Congress and opposition Marxists are now engaged in a battle of police complaints and counter-complaints as the campaign hots up for the five-phase panchayat elections beginning July 11.
It all began with the murder of Trinamool Congress candidate Shibram Naskar at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district when he was returning home after campaigning late last month.
Hours after the incident, Kolkata Mayor and Trinamool’s South 24 Parganas observer Sovan Chatterjee accused CPI-M district secretary and former MP Sujan Chakraborty of being involved in the murder.
“There is a deep conspiracy behind this. As district CPI-M secretary, Chakraborty cannot shirk his responsibility. The possibility of his direct or indirect involvement cannot be ruled out,” said Chatterjee, after visiting the victim’s house.
Naskar’s brother then lodged a First Information Report naming five persons including Chakraborty.
The next day, police began a case against Chakraborty and the others named in the FIR.
“The family members have alleged that Chakraborty had conspired. So we have started a case against him,” said district police superintendent Pravin Tripathi.
A fuming Chakraborty, an engineer and a prominent face on television talk shows, claimed the murder was a fallout of Trinamool’s factional feuds and termed the case part of a “bigger conspiracy” by the ruling party to frame CPI-M leaders in false cases.
“They have targeted our leaders Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Gautam Deb and Surjya Kanta Mishra. Now it seems my name is also there. Let them arrest me. There is something called the law of the land,” Chakraborty said, refusing to seek anticipatory bail from the court.
CPI-M state secretariat member Gautam Deb, at a hurriedly convened media meet, accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of “using” the police and the administration for indulging in a “political vendetta” against political rivals.
Even as he warned the government that his party would mobilise people in their thousands and enforce shutdowns and demonstrations at the airport, key roads and railway stations if Chakraborty was arrested “without proper investigation”, Deb perhaps gave an indication of things to come.
“Now, we will also file FIRs against the chief minister (who also holds the home portfolio) if there is any murder or other law and order issue. We will say she cannot deny her responsibility being the home minister.
“We will say we feel she is directly or indirectly involved. Then police will have to start cases against her. If they don’t, then the partiality of the administration will be exposed,” Deb thundered.
“If there is any political murder we will file an FIR against (Trinamool general secretary) Mukul Roy saying we feel he is directly or indirectly involved,” he added.
Days after Deb’s outburst, a group of CPI-M women leaders, including former state minister Rekha Goswami, were attacked while campaigning for a party candidate at Sasan in North 24 Parganas district by alleged Trinamool activists.
The women leaders, who had taken out a rally, were abused and badly beaten up and their cars were damaged by the motorcycle-borne miscreants.
Two days after lodging an FIR, Goswami gave a written complaint to the Barasat police station contending that the attack was led by Food and Supplies Minister Jyotipriya Mullick and Trinamool MP Haji Nurul Islam and demanded their names be included in the FIR.
The two Trinamool leaders were vehement in their denials, saying they were nowhere near the spot.
“Let there be an inquiry. Let the truth come out. I have nothing to fear,” Mullick said.
As political observers were busy terming the FIR as the CPI-M’s way of giving the Trinamool a taste of its own medicine, Mullick drove to the Barasat police station the next day and complained that some CPI-M leaders had planned to get him murdered on the day of the women’s rally.
Mullick’s complaint named five CPI-M leaders, including state secretariat member Rabin Deb and former MP Amitava Nandy, besides Goswami and two women workers.
The allegations against Deb and Nandy raised eyebrows, but the minister stood his ground. “I have information that people I have named in the FIR are plotting to kill me. The police should take action against them”.
(Sirshendu Panth can be contacted at [email protected])