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Bengal minister’s convoy attack: CM Mamata Banerjee raps police, 5 arrested

TMC minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury has called for a protest march in Kolkata on July 10 to condemn the attack on his convoy; says he might quit the party if attacks continue.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

The West Bengal Police arrested five people for attacking state minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury’s convoy after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her disappointment over the incident.

Reacting to the development, Bengal Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim told The Indian Express on Saturday, “The chief minister became unhappy and expressed her anger when she heard about this (convoy attack). She ordered the police to take stern action.”

On Thursday, a section of Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters pelted stones at the convoy of Bengal Mass Education Minister Chowdhury in his Assembly constituency, Monteswar, under East Burdwan district. Chowdhury was also heckled with slogans calling him ‘thief’, ‘extortionist’, and shown black flags, brooms, and shoes.

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“Stones were pelted at my car and other vehicles in my convoy. The windshields were smashed. This was an attempt to kill me. The attack was planned by TMC Zila Parishad member Azizul Hoque. The local police witnessed everything but took no action. I have contacted senior officials,” Chowdhury said, and added, “If this continues, I will have to think of quitting this party.”

The TMC minister has called for a protest march in Kolkata on July 10 to condemn the incident.

Atri Mitra

Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More

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