NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was beaten and stoned during a visit to West Bengal’s Sonarpur South on Saturday, where he was meeting families affected by post-poll violence.According to the police, stones, eggs and shoes were pelted at Banerjee while she was traveling through South 24 Parganas. Witnesses said a group of unidentified people shouted “thief” slogans, threw objects at the TMC MP and allegedly tried to physically assault him during the visit.Videos from the scene showed Banerjee being escorted by security personnel wearing a police helmet, with his shirt visibly torn in the scuffle.The TMC leader had gone to meet the family of slain party member Sanju Karmakar and other families who, according to the party, were attacked after the assembly election results.Also read: ‘Even if you slit my throat…’: TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee defiant after FIR and CID summons
‘They wanted to kill me’
Reacting to the incident, Banerjee, who looked visibly shaken after the attack, accused the BJP of being behind the attack. “Everything is sponsored by the BJP. Look what they have done. This is their example of democracy. Not even a month has passed and the police are nowhere to be found,” he told reporters.“…They wanted to kill me… The entire incident has been captured on camera. We will definitely inform the high court about this. We will also inform the governor about this… I will definitely go to court…” he added.The visit marked Banerjee’s first major public appearance since the TMC’s defeat in the West Bengal assembly elections 26 days ago.He was also scheduled to visit the families of other party workers allegedly affected by the post-poll violence in Sonarpur South and Beleghata.Earlier in the day, the West Bengal CID served Banerjee with a notice directing her to appear before investigators at Bhabani Bhawan, the agency’s headquarters in Kolkata, at noon on June 1.Responding to the summons, Banerjee said she would consult her legal team before responding. “I am yet to see the content of the notice. I will consult with my lawyers and give an appropriate response. I will surely cooperate with the investigation in any way possible,” he said.Banerjee accused multiple agencies of being used to target him and has maintained that he will cooperate with the investigation while continuing his political activities.“Let them do whatever they want. They can do whatever they want. Understand it this way, earlier it was just ED, CBI and now it is Bengal Police and Kolkata Police too, along with KMC (Kolkata Municipal Corporation),” Banerjee said.“Before there were two or three investigation agencies and now there are five. They think they will send 5 or 6 agencies after me and blackmail me into cowering. “I’m not a person like that,” he added.The summons relates to a CID probe into the alleged use of forged signatures of Trinamool Congress legislators in a communication submitted to the West Bengal Assembly Secretariat in support of senior TMC leader Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay for the post of opposition leader.
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Also read: From Z-plus security to simplified surveillance: Why police reached Abhishek Banerjee’s residence
