Madan Mitra faces egg attack in Kamarhati

Kolkata: Veteran Trinamool Congress MLA Madan Mitra faced protests at his Kamarhati constituency, with demonstrators raising “chor-chor” (thief-thief) slogans and hurling eggs at his vehicle on Saturday night.The incident comes days after 78-year-old Dum Dum’s Trinamool MP, Saugata Roy had faced similar attack in his constituency outside Nimta police station on May 28 after the MP had gone to the police station to submit a deputation alleging attacks on Trinamool Congress councillors in several parts of the Nimta-Birati area under the North Dum Dum Municipality.On Saturday night, a group of local residents in Ariadaha in Kamarhati hurled eggs at a vehicle linked to Madan Mitra, the latest in a string of protest actions that have increasingly targeted Trinamool functionaries from the party’s top rung to local grassroots representatives since the assembly election defeat. Describing the episode as a close brush with danger, Mitra said, “I saw death from very close quarters. I also heard gunshots while I was leaving the area later. An attempt was made to kill me.”According to local sources, protesters pelted his vehicle with eggs, forcing him to withdraw from the locality. Sources said, the incident took place around 10.45 pm after Mitra visited Ariadaha following reports of unrest in the locality. According to allegations, a group of protesters targeted his vehicle with eggs and shouted slogans against the MLA. The driver of the vehicle was also allegedly assaulted.Initial reports, however, suggested that Mitra was not inside the vehicle at the time of the attack. The driver managed to steer the car out of the area and escape further damage.A video purportedly showing the protest and the attack has since gone viral on social media. The authenticity of the footage, however, could not be independently verified by TOI.Later in the night, Mitra addressed the incident through Facebook Live sessions, first from his vehicle and later from his residence. Describing the episode as a close brush with danger, he said, “I saw death from very close quarters.”The veteran TMC functionary blamed BJP-backed miscreants for the attack. “It was a pre-planned attempt to target me. The incident was politically motivated by some local BJP netas and supporters and intended to create unrest in the area,” Mitra said.The BJP, however, denied any involvement, claiming that the incident was a spontaneous outburst of public anger against the corruption, extortion, and atrocities perpetrated by TMC functionaries over a prolonged period.According to local sources, tension had already been brewing in Kamarhati’s Ward No. 14, where local auto-rickshaw and e-rickshaw drivers staged a protest outside the residence of a local TMC councillor on Saturday evening. “The protesters accused the councillor of collecting “cut money” (illegal commissions) over a prolonged period and demanded the return of the money allegedly taken from local residents,” a local trader said.“The attack on Mitra’s vehicle has added to the political turbulence in the area and sparked fresh debate over growing public resentment against sections of the TMC party leadership,” a local resident said.