TMC leader ‘thrashes’ woman, arrested and released soon

According to police, the incident took place over a land dispute. “On Friday, Gopal and his gang members thrashed my mother-in-law. On Saturday, they came again and beat me and other family members in my house. I was slapped repeatedly,” the woman, who has filed the complaint, said, adding that the dispute began after a brick wall was raised on the land adjacent to her house.

In the viral video of the purported incident, Tiwari is allegedly slapping a woman and then entering into a scuffle with others.

Tiwari said, “I had bought a piece of land and erected a boundary wall. They (the complainant’s family) broke the wall. When I went to their house, I was beaten up.”

Meanwhile, the incident took a political turn with the opposition BJP accusing the TMC of hooliganism. “After the kangaroo courts of JCB, Jamal and bullying of Jayanta and his gang, a new name in the TMC’s hooliganism crown is Gopal Tiwari. This person is the general secretary of TMC’s Kalna town. Common people were beaten up by the TMC leader and his followers,” senior BJP leader and former MP Dilip Ghosh said.

BJP vice-president Mrityunjay Chandra said, “In West Bengal, the ruler is all. They are above the law. They can do anything and will get bail.”

However, local TMC MLA Debaprasad Bag said that no one can take the law into their own hands. “No one can take law in their hands. Police are investigating the incident. Anyone who is the culprit will be punished.”