A gang of goons damaged CCTV cameras and tore down banners at a Durga Puja pandal in Malda’s Pipla on Saturday night.
The incident came to light on Sunday morning, causing widespread uproar in the area which is under the jurisdiction of the Harishchandrapur police station of the district.
The incident occurred at the Durga Puja organised by Ankur Sangha, a club headed by local Trinamool Congress leader Dronacharya Bhattacharya. He is also a close aide of Tajmul Hossain, the minister of state for minority affairs and the Trinamool MLA from Harishchandrapur.
Representatives of the club filed a police complaint. They alleged that the attack was an act of political revenge stemming from an old rivalry, and claimed that opposition parties may have supported the criminals.
Bhattacharya, the secretary of the club, said: “Yesterday (Saturday), we returned home from the Puja pandal late at night. This morning (Sunday), we found that four CCTV cameras installed at the pandal have been damaged. Additionally, the fabric banner of a stage beside the pandal had been torn down. We believe this was a deliberate and pre-planned act of vandalism, and we suspect that political opposition parties might have a hand in it.”
A leader of the saffron camp dismissed Bhattacharya’s remarks.
Abhishek Singhania, a local BJP leader and the party’s district general secretary, claimed that the incident is a fallout of the Trinamool Congress’s internal factional conflict.
“Everyone knows about the long-standing conflict between the minister and an elected member of the zilla parishad. They constantly level accusations at each other, and often, their followers get involved in factional disputes. This incident is another example of that infighting,”
he said.
Tajmul Hossain said he was aware of the incident.
“There could be a conspiracy by the opposition behind it. The police are investigating the matter, and we believe they will nab all those involved in the act,” he said.
Officials at the Harishchandrapur police station said that they are collecting CCTV footage of nearby areas.
“An investigation is in progress,” said an officer.