Five people, including a former Trinamool Congress councillor of South Dum Dum, were arrested on Saturday for allegedly being involved in a clash between Trinamool Congress and BJP supporters outside the Calcutta airport on Friday night.
The altercation reportedly broke out outside the airport’s arrival gates, where Trinamool supporters had gathered to receive the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, and BJP supporters were present to welcome Union minister of state for education and Balurghat MP Sukanta Majumdar.
Some Trinamool supporters alleged that members of the BJP group were carrying eggs to throw at their leader and that one person was armed with a firearm.
“Five persons were arrested based on a complaint lodged by Uttam Das, who alleged that he was assaulted during the clash,” a senior officer of the Bidhannagar police commissionerate said.
Those arrested are Alok Chakraborty, 52; Subhankar Chatterjee, 39; Tina Mondal, 34; Rima Biswas, 34; and former councillor Debasish Banerjee.
Sources said Debasish was considered close to former education minister Bratya Basu during his tenure as a councillor of the South Dum Dum municipality.
With supporters of the two parties engaged in a scuffle, police whisked away the VIPs through separate exits.
A day later, Abhishek Banerjee accused the BJP of deploying armed attackers at the airport.
“When politics descends into criminality, DEMOCRACY STANDS GRAVELY THREATENED. BJP is SO FEARFUL OF A POLITICALLY STRONG OPPONENT that it has now resorted to deploying armed attackers to eliminate me. Yesterday, an armed man was stationed at the exit gate of Kolkata airport, where I was scheduled to arrive. This is the GRIM REALITY of Bengal today — a state where POLITICAL VENDETTA HAS REPLACED GOVERNANCE, AND STATE-SPONSORED VIOLENCE IS BEING BRAZENLY ENABLED,” he said in a social media post.
“This was not merely an attempt to target an individual. It is a chilling reflection of the complete collapse of democracy and law & order.”
The Trinamool MP from Diamond Harbour posted a video showing a man in a yellow kurta holding what appears to be a gun.
A section of Trinamool leaders identified him as Uttam Das, a BJP leader of Dum Dum. The allegations of a person carrying a firearm were being verified, the police said.
“The five persons were arrested based on CCTV footage and other electronic evidence,” an officer said.
BJP leaders condemned the “attack” by Trinamool supporters.
“Trinamool’s hooliganism continues. Action will follow, but BJP workers should not take the law into their own hands,” Majumder said.