West Bengal Assembly Election

Brinda Karat held police responsible for CPM-Trinamul clash

CPI-M polit-bureau member Ms Brinda Karat alleged that the attack made on the CPI-M supporters that occurred at Natabari on Friday afternoon was a pre-planned one. As the people are not with them the hopeless Trinamul Congress had to attack on CPI-M supporters armed with stones and sticks, she said. At the same time she alleged that there was lack of adequate security measures and she conveyed the matter to the Election Commission and the district magistrate and SP of Cooch Behar. On Saturday morning when she was talking with reporters at the district CPI-M office, the district unit secretary Mr Chandi Pal, Cooch Behar MP (Rajya Sabha) Mr Tarini Ray and the outgoing MLA of Natabari Mr Tamser Ali too held the police responsible as they failed to arrange adequate security measures at Natabari on Friday during Ms Karat's meeting.

After the press conference Ms Karat attended a mass meeting at Baneswar in Cooch Behar this morning. Here too she spoke about the Natabari incident and came down heavily on the Trinamul Congress. 

It may be mentioned here that a clash occurred between CPI-M and Trinamul Congress supporters at Natabari on Friday afternoon. About fifty persons including media persons have been injured. CPI-M polit-bureau member Ms Brinda Karat herself lodged a complaint to the police against Trinamul's hooliganism.

Ms Karat was present at a CPI-M organised meeting at Chilakhana High School ground to campaign in favour of the outgoing MLA Mr Tamser Ali. Mr Ali alleged that Trinamul goons threw stones on the CPI-M procession that was going to attend the meeting. In the attack many party supporters got injured. How the Trinamul Congress took out a procession at the vicinity of a CPI-M election meeting, he questioned. 

On the otherhand, district Trinamul Congress president cum the party's candidate from Natabari Mr Rabindra Nath Ghosh alleged that CPI-M activists were the first that attacked their party office, blazed it and assaulted their supporters.

Photographer of a Kolkata based Bengali daily said when he was taking pictures of the attack on the Trinamul office some miscreants beat him up. With head injury he is now under treatment at private hospital in Cooch Behar.

Heavy contingent of police force and fire brigade men rushed to the spot and controlled the situation. About fifty persons were injured in the melee. The meeting was postponed following the incident.

Senior police officials claimed that the situation is now under control. No person has been arrested till now.