HOOGHLY: A government official and his school teacher wife were arrested by Arambagh police under the Disaster Management Act for allegedly assaulting their tenant — the
Goghat
Block I
BDO
Surashi Pal — and preventing her from entering the rented house. Pal was prevented because several persons in the BDO office have recently tested positive for Covid.
The BDO could finally enter the house after police resorted to lathi-charge. Six of her neighbours were also arrested.
Pal had been to her office and while returning home, she was stopped by some neighbours and house owners, Ananda Saha, an agriculture development officer, and his wife Mousumi Mondal ,a teacher of Arambagh Girls’ High School.
The residents of the Nabapally area of Arambagh also tried to resist her entry. They claimed that Manoranjan Pal, Sabhapati of Goghat Block I panchayat samity and several others had tested positive. As the BDO shares the same office space with them, they did not want to allow her an entry.
Pal, along with her eight-year-old daughter and other family members, stay in the rented house. They were asked to shift to some government accommodation. Soon, the war of words took an ugly turn and some people allegedly pushed her to stop her from entering the house. The neighbours supported Saha as they too claimed that the BDO might be a carrier of the virus.
Soon, police were informed. They requested the neighbours to allow the BDO to enter the house and assured them of providing all help. Still, Pal was not allowed entry. The cops then resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the mob. The BDO’s landlord and his wife were arrested along with six neighbours.
The SDPO of Arambagh, Nirmal Kumar Das, said the way the BDO had been heckled and stopped from entering her rented house is an act of disgrace as she is a Covid warrior. For this, eight persons have been charged under the Disaster Management Act. They would be produced in the court on Monday. Swapan Nandi, chairman, Arambagh Municipality, said such an act towards a woman is condemnable and here it was reportedly done by another government official.