BJP candidate, out on bail to fight West Bengal polls, clashes with TMC workers, cops

KOLKATA: Just days after the Calcutta High Court granted him interim bail to contest the upcoming assembly elections, BJP's Kolkata Port candidate Rakesh Singh found himself at the centre of a fresh legal hassle following a skirmish with Trinamool Congress, and later the cops.

Singh has been named in two FIRs. One of the FIRs claims he tried to snatch the weapon from a cop. Incidentally, a third FIR, lodged by BJP, has alleged Trinamool of attacking their supporters. Singh claimed that he was injured in police lathicharge along with two BJP supporters, including one woman.



Six policemen have been injured in the incident, including OC Ekbalpore, who has been admitted to a private nursing home in Alipore.

The fresh charges on Singh come as a significant setback, as the court's April 2026 bail order — which ended his 163-day incarceration — explicitly directed him to adhere to bail conditions, including maintaining law and order and restricting his movement to his constituency for campaign works.

The unrest began on Monday evening when a BJP meeting on Hossain Shah Road was allegedly disrupted by Trinamool supporters. While BJP claimed that the Trinamool workers raised slogans during their meeting, Trinamool functionary Bablu Karim claimed that the locals, and not his party workers, objected to some speeches being made by the BJP functionaries. Singh had not reached the venue till then.

The situation spiralled out of control as both sides engaged in aggressive sloganeering. Upon Singh's arrival, the friction intensified, but the two groups avoided any clash. The incident led Singh to organise a sit-in protest at the gates of the Ekbalpore police station to protest alleged police inaction.

The standoff turned into a free for all when Trinamool supporters arrived at the spot. Singh was reportedly assaulted, necessitating his admission to a hospital late at night. "When all pleas failed, a skirmish ensued. This forced the police to resort to baton charge. During the melee, six police officers were injured," said DC (Port) Harikrishna Pai. Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal said, "Police will act according to the law."

The police have filed three FIRs and arrested nine — five from the BJP and four from Trinamool. Singh has been named in two of these cases, which include grave allegations such as the obstruction of public servants, vandalism of govt property and a brazen attempt by his supporters to snatch a revolver from an on-duty officer.

While the BJP maintains that the fresh FIRs are a "conspiracy", Trinamool is using the incident to remind voters of Singh's ‘history-sheeter' status on the EC portal.
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