Actors targeted at BJP meeting

Karimpur (Nadia): Actors and BJP leaders Rimjhim Mitra and Rupanjana Mitra alleged on Wednesday that they were manhandled at a public meeting at Dogachhi vegetable market in Nadia’s Thanarpara around 7pm on Tuesday. They claimed Trinamool-backed goons carried out the “pre-planned attack”.

Jayprakash Majumder, BJP’s candidate for the November 25 Karimpur by-election for whom they were campaigning, lodged the complaint on Tuesday night.

Rimjhim said: “When Rupanjana started speaking, some people moved towards us on the dais. It was dark and faces were not identifiable. This group asked people in the front row to get up and created chaos. They then manhandled us. It was a pre-planned attack by TMC workers. Our party workers shielded us by taking us into a nearby salon. The group tried to attack the salon. Our workers then put us into our car and we left for Kolkata. We could have been killed. Police were mere spectators.”

Rupanjana said: “People attending the meeting were listening to me carefully. After a while, a group of people began a ruckus. told to leave. These were TMC men.”

State forest minister Rajib Banerjee said: “These are baseless allegations. It is BJP’s own doing. BJP has realised it is going to lose Karimpur and is resorting to lies and half-truths to gain sympathy and media traction.”

Banerjee, TMC’s Nadia observer, added: “TMC won this seat last time. The actors made such allegations for cheap popularity.”