Abu Ayesh Mondal

July 2: An employee of the West Bengal Minorities Development and Finance Corporation has lodged a police complaint in Murshidabad accusing Trinamul leader and WBMDFC chairman Abu Ayesh Mondal of insulting her over phone yesterday.

The 27-year-old employee, an education supervisor of the WBMDFC posted in Domkol, said: “The chairman called me up at my office last afternoon. He asked me about some cheques whose dates had expired and whether I had sent them back to the corporation’s Calcutta office for revalidation. When I told him one of my colleagues would take them to the office tomorrow, he got angry and insulted me.”

The woman employee, who coordinates with students and distributes WBMDFC stipend cheques among them, said she was surprised at the intemperate language Mondal used.

“I am not used to this kind of insult. I asked him why he was speaking to me like this. I told him that if he was not satisfied with my performance, he should issue a showcause notice but he had no right to insult me like this,” she added.

The woman said the conversation went on for six to seven minutes.

“In the middle of the conversation, I started recording it. When I asked the chairman why he was insulting me, he repeated the profanities. I could not take the insult any longer and disconnected the call,” the employee said.

“I felt like crying but I could not do so in front of my colleagues. I went to the ladies’ room and broke down,” she added.

After returning home to Domkol town, the woman informed her husband about her ordeal and lodged a complaint with Domkol police station.

“In my complaint, I said the chairman insulted me. I have demanded justice from the police,” she said.

Mondal admitted he had “scolded” the woman for “non-performance” and had used intemperate language.

“The lady does not work. That is why I scolded her. I scold my employees so that they perform better. I was angry with her at that time and so I admonished her,” he said.

Mondal, a three-time MLA from Manteswar in Burdwan and the Katwa MP between 2007 and 2009, switched to Trinamul from the CPM after being denied a ticket for the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. He unsuccessfully contested the Manteswar Assembly seat as a Trinamul candidate. Subsequently, he was made chairman of the WBMDFC.

The additional superintendent of police (rural), Mrinal Majumdar, said: “We have received a complaint and an inquiry has been started.”

The woman said she had written to chief minister Mamata Banerjee and would write to the state women’s commission.

The chairperson of the state women’s commission, Sunanda Mukherjee, said: “The commission will look into the complaint once it receives it. However, this much I can say that a person at the helm of an organisation should deal decently with a lady employee.”

Burdwan Trinamul president Mohammad Ali said: “Abu Ayesh Mondal has not spoken in the capacity of a Trinamul leader.”