Cooch Behar district administration and police officials on Tuesday checked three-four vehicles in the convoy of BJP candidate Nisith Pramanik, two days after a team from the income tax (IT) department had inspected the helicopter used by Trinamul Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee in Calcutta.
Pramanik, the sitting Cooch Behar MP, is also the Union minister of state for home and enjoys Z-Plus category protection. The BJP has fielded him in the Cooch Behar Lok Sabha constituency for the second time.
While Pramanik’s motorcade was on its way to Cooch Behar from Bhetaguri where he stays, the officials halted the vehicles just outside the town. When the officials said they wanted to inspect the vehicles, an argument ensued between them and Pramanik and his security personnel.
“Dinhata police station in-charge Jaideep Modak, Dinhata subdivisional police officer Biman Mitra and executive magistrate Raman Singh Birdi were in the team," said a source.
Pramanik and his security personnel asked the team to explain the guidelines for such checking. Eventually, the MP allowed the car in which he was travelling to be checked but on the condition that only the civil administration officials would do it and not the police.
“I am a Union minister of state and should know the guidelines which allow them to search our cars. They couldn't find anything,” Pramanik said later.
Birdi said the convoy had been checked following instructions. “We have been directed to check the vehicles. We are inspecting every vehicle. We had already checked other Z-Plus category vehicles,” he said.
The drama continued on the Dinhata-Cooch Behar Road for 30 minutes. After Pramanik’s vehicle was checked, his motorcade left the spot.
A Trinamul leader in Cooch Behar said: “When an income tax team searched Abhishek Banerjee’s chopper, Suvendu Adhikari (leader of the Opposition in the Assembly) said the law was equally applicable to all. The BJP candidate here should have known it, instead of arguing with the team that is functioning under the Election Commission,” he said.
On Sunday, IT officials reached the Behala Flying Club in Calcutta and inspected the chopper which was used by Trinamul national general secretary Abhishek.