TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was roughed up on Saturday, allegedly by locals, when he visited West Bengal's Sonarpur area to meet families of post-poll violence victims, police said.
Stones, shoes and eggs were hurled at the TMC MP by unidentified people who even attempted to rain blows and kicks on him, while they shouted 'thief' slogans at Banerjee.
It was the first instance of public anger erupting against a political leader who, until a month ago, was an unquestioned power centre in Bengal.
Twenty-five days after the Bengal Assembly poll results, this was the Trinamool Congress national general secretary's first public event.
He had gone to Sonarpur to meet the family members of Sanju Karmakar, a victim of post-poll violence in Ward 9 of Rajpur-Sonarpur Municipality's Vivekanandanagar area.
The visit had been announced on Friday night.
The moment Abhishek, who enjoyed Z-plus security cover until the change of guard in Bengal, stepped out of his vehicle, he was greeted with chants of "chor, chor" (thief).
Former chief minister Mamata Banerjee had also faced similar slogans on May 14 from lawyers and protestors at the Calcutta High Court.
(Left Lawyers raise slogans against Mamata Banerjee, (right) Mamata Banerjee at the Calcutta High Court. The Telegraph Online
On Thursday, senior TMC MP Sougata Roy experienced a similarly volatile ambush at the Nimta police station, where the 78-year-old leader was heckled by an angry crowd that not only chanted the "chor chor" slogans but also escalated the protest by hurling eggs at his vehicle before the police could safely navigate his car out of the area.
Sougata Roy heckled by protestors near Nimta police station. The Telegraph Online
From his SUV, Abhishek switched to a bike, which soon came under attack. He later walked to the Karmakar residence wearing a helmet, with his shirt torn, surrounded by security personnel and a handful of Trinamool supporters from Bhabanipur. No Trinamool leader or worker from Sonarpur accompanied the party's national general secretary at the spot.
"Why is he here? He must have come here to take money. Why didn't he go to Panihati after the doctor was raped and killed?" asked a woman resident. The locals were also angry over lack of civic amenities in their localities.
Accompanied by his security personnel, Abhishek entered the Karmakar residence on Kamrabad Sarat Sarani.
Security personnel escorted him into the residence with a police helmet on and his shirt tattered as the crowd turned aggressive.
Local residents with eggs in Rajpur-Sonarpur The Telegraph Online
"They want to kill me," Abhishek told the media. "I am not going to leave this place, I am not going to leave the family till the administration takes action. You can see no official is present here. Everything has been recorded on video. I am drawing the attention of the Governor and the high court."
Abhishek instructed those accompanying him to call officials, send WhatsApp messages and take screenshots if the distress calls went unanswered.
Abhishek Banerjee at the victim's house The Telegraph Online
Outside the Karmakar residence, men, women and children threatened the Trinamool national general secretary.
Several women alleged that they had been forced to leave their homes after receiving threats from local Trinamool leaders.
"We want to ask him why he didn't protect us. Why were women left unprotected?" a woman asked.
State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said the local police should take action. "The BJP does not engage in such kind of politics. Police should take action," Bhattacharya said. "People remember what our former women's wing chief Roopa Ganguly (elected MLA from Sonarpur South) had to face. People of Bengal have voted for a change against this politics of violence."
Personnel from central forces accompanied by officers from Sonarpur police station, have reached ward 9 to rescue the Diamond Harbour MP. After being holed up inside the Karnakar residence for over 90 minutes, Abhishek was escorted by the central forces and local police while a mob chased the vehicle, shouting abuses.
"The Lok Sabha leader of the second largest Opposition party was attacked by a few BJP supporters. Life at risk. Where are the police? Why was security withdrawn on the day of counting? Let the Union home minister answer," said Derek O'Brien, Trinamool's leader in the Rajya Sabha.
Opposition parties, including the Congress and Samajwadi Party, also condemned the attack on the Trinamool MP. The leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said, "The deliberate lack of adequate police protection for a prominent Opposition leader speaks volumes about the BJP’s politics of vendetta and persecution."
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the absence of police arrangements points to a "major conspiracy" under the "anarchic BJP government in Bengal".