An 81-year-old man died in Barrackpore on Sunday after allegedly being kicked by a local civic body councillor from the Trinamool Congress.

The incident reportedly occurred during a dispute when the elderly man attempted to object to an unauthorised construction in the area, police said.

Rabindranath Bhattacharya, TMC councillor of Ward 23, North Barrackpore Municipality, was arrested later on Sunday evening, senior police officers said.

Tulsi Adhikary, 81, a resident of Manirampur in Barrackpore, was allegedly kicked and verbally abused by Bhattacharya when he protested against an alleged unauthorised construction next to his home, his daughter-in-law Paromita Adhikary said.

“Our only fault was that we had protested against an unauthorised construction of a three-storey building next to our house. We had registered a complaint with the chairman of the municipality. This could have hurt the councillor’s (Bhattacharya’s) ego. Today, he abused my father-in-law and kicked him in public. My father-in-law was a very polite and gentle person. He could not tolerate this public insult,” Paromita alleged.

The incident happened around 9.45am at Manirampur in Barrackpore near Adhikary’s home.

Adhikary’s family members alleged that Bhattacharya kicked him after the altercation, and he fell on the road.

Adhikary was brought back to his residence, where he began to feel ill.

“After being kicked, my father-in-law returned home and complained of feeling unwell,” Adhikary’s daughter-in-law Paromita said. He was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead. The family lodged a complaint with the police after that.

Bhattacharya, hours before his arrest, reacted to the allegations and said that Tulsi Adhikary’s son Hemanta was responsible for his father’s death.

“His son is responsible for his death. Despite knowing that his father is unwell, he brought him to the spot, and they started abusing me. They even pulled me by my collar,” Bhattacharya alleged.

He added that he had gone to the locality for the inauguration of a Pathasathi project.

“When I went there, I could see plastering was being done in the building, which Tulsi Adhikary was complaining of being an unauthorised construction. I saw there was no ongoing construction,” Bhattacharya said.

The Adhikarys lodged a complaint with the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate later on Sunday afternoon.

Based on the complaint, Bhattacharya was first detained for interrogation and later arrested in the evening.

The Trinamool Congress has suspended Bhattacharya.

Barrackpore MP Partha Bhowmik visited the residence of the deceased onSunday evening and announced that Rabindranath Bhattacharya had been suspended for six years from the party.

“Every death is tragic. We have learned that there was an ongoing issue between two families over an alleged unauthorised construction. The matter had also been reported to the municipality. However, it is unclear why, despite the matter having been referred to the municipality, the councillor took it up personally and got engaged in an altercation. This needs to be probed. The party is suspending him for six years. The administration will do as it deems fit,” said Bhowmik after he visited the Adhikary residence.

A few hours later, Bhattacharya was formally arrested in connection with the death of the elderly person.

The police have slapped murder charges against Rabindranath Bhattacharya.

Police said he would be produced before the court on Monday.

“We will seek the custody of the accused and examine him for more details. We will also record the statement of the witnesses to this incident. A detailed probe has been started,” said a senior officer of the Barrackpore police commissionerate.