In Kolkata, an FIR has been lodged against Abhijit Gangopadhyay, the BJP contender for the Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency and a former adjudicator of the Calcutta High Court, alongside certain party affiliates in East Midnapore, West Bengal. They stand accused of assaulting dismissed school staff at their protest gathering.
The complaint, tendered by a faction of the 25,753 educational and administrative personnel who lost their positions due to a ruling by the high court and are purportedly aligned with the ruling Trinamool Congress, led to the filing of the FIR at the Tamluk police station. Various non-bailable sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act form the basis of this legal action.
The genesis of the grievance lies in a procession organized by BJP adherents in Tamluk, coinciding with Gangopadhyay’s submission of his nomination as a candidate on May 4. Friction arose as the procession traversed through the vicinity where terminated school staff were engaged in demonstrations against the directive of the Calcutta High Court.
Per Maidul Islam, President of the West Bengal Primary Teachers’ Association, an entity purportedly aligned with the Trinamool, the protestors faced an unprovoked assault by individuals from Gangopadhyay’s entourage. He further warned of an escalating statewide protest if those culpable for the attack on the hunger strikers remain at large.
In response to the FIR, Gangopadhyay dismissed the accusations as baseless, asserting his readiness to confront the legal repercussions. “I am keen to witness how long the perpetrators of these unfounded accusations can evade legal accountability,” he remarked.
