District CPM leaders in Malda on Wednesday said that police had filed a case against senior party leaders such as state secretary Md Salim, central committee member Sumit Dey, party leader Minakshi Mukherjee, among others, present at the party's public meeting at Rathbari in Malda town last Saturday.
The meeting raised questions on why the CPM had planned it at the busy site as it had held up traffic on the Malda-Raiganj state highway for around three hours.
CPM leaders had argued that they had to organise the meeting at Rathbari as they were denied permission to use the Brindrabani Ground and the Malda College Ground.
On Wednesday, Koushik Mishra, the Malda district CPM secretary, claimed that the case was not just filed against leaders, but also against nearly 1,200 party workers, including some bikers who had participated in the meeting and a rally held afterwards.
“We will move Calcutta High Court against the district administration and the police to expose their vindictive approach aimed at curbing our democratic rights,” Mishra said.
Legal proceedings apart, the party would also launch street protests against what it termed “vindictive” police actions.
Party sources said that the CPM state leadership was informed about the case filed against the party leaders and workers.
Sarbananda Pandey, the Malda district secretary of the RSP, alleged that the police had named him in the case despite his absence from the CPM event.
“It was the CPM’s meeting and not that of the Left Front as a whole. We (the RSP) are a separate political party from the CPM. I neither attended the public meeting nor the rally. Yet, police have accused me as well,” Pandey said, adding that he would initiate legal action against the “false case”.
District police officers declined to comment on the allegations.
However, a senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the case, citing relevant sections of unauthorised assembly and traffic obstruction, among others, was registered because the CPM held the meeting at a major crossing of the town by blocking traffic without obtaining proper permission.