A group of suspected Trinamul Congress supporters on Thursday attacked the car of Nikhil Ranjan Dey, the BJP MLA of Cooch Behar Dakshin Assembly seat, while he was leaving the court premises in Dinhata town of the district.

Dey was in court to appear in an old case of political violence where he had
been named.

Around 1.30pm, when the MLA reached the court campus, some Trinamool supporters who assembled there shouted slogans at him.

“They verbally abused me and went on sloganeering,” said Dey.

The BJP MLA claimed that when the judge of the court asked the police to remove the TMC supporters, the cops on duty there didn’t do anything to send them away.

After the proceedings, when Dey came out of the court and got into the car with his security guards — Dey has Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel deputed for his security — the demonstrators resumed their protests.

“The TMC supporters, who were still there, chased my car (an SUV). They pelted eggs and stones at my vehicle and also ransacked it. The attackers went on chasing my car. I along with my security personnel somehow left the spot,” he said.

“It was an attempt to kill me,” claimed the BJP MLA.

Sources said in 2017, Dey was named in a case, along with saffron party leader Locket Chatterjee and TMC leader Jayprakash Majumdar, for their alleged involvement in a political clash at Bhetaguri of Dinhata.

On Thursday, while Chatterjee stayed away due to illness, both Dey and Majumdar appeared in court.

“The TMC supporters knew from before that I would be in court today (Thursday). It was a planned attack,” said Dey.

As the news of the attack on MLA Dey spread, BJP leaders and supporters resorted to protests across the district.

In Cooch Behar town, the BJP staged a road blockade in Morapora Chowpathi, a prominent crossing, from 2.30pm. The blockade was withdrawn after half an hour.

The incident also made Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, react.

“I have spoken with the DG of the CISF as our MLA gets security of the central forces, to take necessary steps. Also, if the SP of Cooch Behar doesn’t make any move, we will resort to protests and will also take legal steps,” said Adhikari.

Trinamul Congress leaders, however, have denied the charge.

Girindranath Barman, the Trinamool chairman in Cooch Behar district, said their party had no connection with Thursday’s incident.

Barman called the incident a “spontaneous outburst” of common people against the elected BJP lawmakers, who, he claimed, had not done anything for the people of the area and the state.

“The BJP-led central government has not been paying funds to the state for different social welfare schemes. Also, the BJP MLAs have failed to carry out development in their areas. That is why common people are so aggrieved with them. And whatever happened today (Thursday) was a spontaneous outburst of their grievance,” said the district TMC leader.

Dey filed a complaint at the Dinhata police station.

The matter is being investigated, said a senior police officer.