It took 26 days after the electoral debacle for Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool’s No. 2, to leave his Kalighat home. On Saturday, Abhishek — three-term MP, the party’s national general secretary — was dragged by the collar off a motorbike and beaten by a mob in Sonarpur. His spectacles were smashed. His shirt was torn. He needed a cricket helmet to walk through the crowd.
Trinamool’s Diamond Harbour MP had travelled roughly 20km to Rajpur-Sonarpur in South 24-Parganas to meet the family of Sanju Karmakar, a party worker killed in post-poll violence. It was meant to be his first significant political programme since the party’s crushing defeat in the Assembly elections. Instead, it became a public spectacle of rage.
His convoy was stopped at Kamalgazi, where residents waved black flags. He pressed on, reaching Ward No. 9 of the Rajpur-Sonarpur municipality around 4.45pm. Because the lane to the Karmakar home was too narrow for his vehicle, he switched to a supporter’s motorbike. That decision proved costly.
As the bike moved through the lane, the crowd lining both sides began shouting “chor, chor, thief, thief”. The motorcycle was mobbed and forced to a halt. Abhishek — in a white full-sleeve shirt and dark trousers — was dragged off the pillion by his collar. A supporter thrust a cricket helmet into his hands. He put it on and tried to push through on foot.
What followed was a sustained assault. Eggs, shoes, and bricks were hurled at him. Punches landed. Abuses flew. His spectacles were broken, his shirt torn. Women wielding brooms had stationed themselves along his route. Those accompanying him tried to form a shield, while he hunched low, trying to absorb the blows and keep moving. Residents flung dirty water from waterlogged puddles as he passed.
He made it inside the Karmakar home. But the fury did not subside. A large group of women surrounded the house, hammering on the door, declaring they would not leave until they had “settled scores” with him. Abhishek remained inside for nearly an hour and a half.
The protesters’ grievances ranged well beyond the immediate moment. They accused local Trinamool leaders of years of intimidation, political violence, and neglect — pointing specifically to chronic waterlogging and crumbling civic infrastructure.
Several raised the RG Kar rape-and-murder case, demanding to know why Abhishek had never visited the slain doctor’s family. Others cited his post-election remarks encouraging workers to celebrate with DJ music — widely criticised as a provocation that emboldened post-poll violence against the Opposition.
“How could he come here?” one woman said. “A person who always incited tension, uttered insensitive words, and unleashed threats against the Opposition — what kind of welcome did he expect?”
Another asked pointedly: “Why has he come here? The person whose house he has visited is also a thief. It’s like a thief visiting another thief.”
Speaking from inside the house, Abhishek blamed the BJP and alleged a premeditated attack.
“This was BJP-sponsored, pre-planned. My head was spared because of the helmet. They wanted to kill me today. It hasn’t even been a month, and the police are nowhere to be seen,” he said, adding that he feared for the safety of Sanju Karmakar’s elderly parents once he left.
Around 6.20pm, a joint team of Sonarpur police and central paramilitary forces escorted him out. He was taken to a private hospital on EM Bypass around 7pm, where former chief minister Mamata Banerjee and other senior leaders rushed to his side. Mamata later alleged the hospital was refusing treatment and ordered him shifted to a facility in central Calcutta.
The incident quickly became a national political controversy. Former chief minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the BJP directly — “The rulers have become the killers” — while Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also condemned the attack.
Late in the night, Mamata accused the state government of interfering and not allowing the treatment of Abhishek at two leading private hospitals in the city. She said the MP's treatment would continue at home. Sources, however, said that "there is no serious sign of injury except bruises in the chest...patient does not require any admission".
Trinamool spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien alleged that Abhishek had been “lynched by BJP supporters” and asked why his security had been withdrawn since counting day.
The BJP firmly denied involvement. State party president Samik Bhattacharya called the assault “unfortunate” but argued that it reflected deep public discontent with the Trinamool Congress.
He drew parallels with what he described as Trinamool’s own record of political violence, including alleged attacks on now chief minister Suvendu Adhikari and other BJP leaders during the previous government’s tenure. “I would urge all political parties to change Bengal’s political culture,” he said.
A retired police officer, speaking anonymously, asked how the security breach had occurred in the first place. “Abhishek is not a new MP. The security ring around him should have been adequate,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Abhishek had visited Beleghata to meet the family of another slain TMC worker. While he was there, CID officials arrived at his Kalighat residence with a notice connected to an ongoing probe into the authenticity of signatures by Trinamool MLAs on a letter submitted to the Assembly Speaker.
On his return, Abhishek was characteristically defiant. “I have not bowed before the ED or the CBI. I will move the court soon,” he said.