After snub,Mamata clean chit to Anubrata

She went on to describe “a minister from Murshidabad — read railway minister Adhir Chowdhury,who is the only minister from the district— as a goonda but only Mondal is being accused”.

Mamata’s support is in contrast with the cold shoulder she gave to Anubrata soon after he had delivered the speech in Birbhum. She had ignored him on the dais at two rallies during the recently concluded panchayat elections.

On Friday, a court in Suri had criticised Birbhum DM J P Meena and Superintendent of Police Murlidhar Sharma for not applying non-bailable and cognizable sections of the IPC against Anubrata for his hate speech. The court had also hauled up the police for taking the case “lightly”.

The four sections of the IPC that the court has ordered to add against Anubrata are 117 (abetting commission of offence by the public or by more than ten persons),436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house),332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty).

Anubrata’s July 17 speech — where he had asked people to burn the houses of Independent candidates and beat up policemen if they came to their rescue — had resulted in large-scale arson in some areas of Birbhum and allegedly led to a the murder of an Independent candidate’s father.

Anubrata later retracted,saying his statement was a slip of tongue.

Family of Independent candidate Hriday Ghosh,who lost his father,have sent a letter to the Birbhum SP.

While the SP acknowledged having received the letter of complaint and said they have initiated an inquiry,the complaint was not treated as an FIR,which,criminal lawyers said should have been the case. In the complaint,Shibani Ghosh,daughter-in-law of the deceased,has mentioned 39 names,including that of Anubrata, in the murder.

Hriday Ghosh said today: “Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is behaving as if she is the chief minister of only Anubrata Mondal and not of common men like us.”

Back in the Assembly,Mamata Banerjee defended that the panchayat polls were relatively peaceful this time compared to the Left regime. She said only some pockets of Malda and Murshidabad were exceptions.