The police in Malda have detained an SUV in connection with the alleged attempt to hit the vehicle of Trinamool MLA Sabitri Mitra on the Malda-Manikchak state highway on February 1 night.
The police have also interrogated Mohammad Saniz Akhtar, the SUV’s owner, regarding the incident.
On Saturday night, Mitra, the Manikchak MLA, was moving on the state highway in her car when an SUV, from the opposite end, collided with her vehicle.
The MLA expressed concern over her security, claiming the collision was a deliberate attempt to kill her.
Later, she filed a complaint with the police. Based on her complaint, police initiated a probe and examined the footage of CCTV cameras installed along the roads connected with the state highway.
Eventually, they zeroed in on one SUV and detained it.
According to police sources, during interrogation, Akhtar admitted that on that day, he was in his SUV along the same route after visiting a relative’s place.
“Akhtar, however, claimed that his SUV did not hit any vehicle and that he didn’t know the MLA. He also said that his SUV overtook few vehicles, but while maintaining traffic rules, and that he had no idea whether any of those vehicles belonged to the MLA,” said a source.
In her police complaint, the veteran TMC leader and former minister had mentioned the last four digits of the SUV’s registration number.
“We are trying to find all the vehicles with those four digits and are collecting details of the owners of those vehicles,” said a police officer working on the case.
On February 2, asked for her reaction after the incident, Mitra had said: “I have been in politics for the last 43 years. My experience says it was a deliberate attempt to kill me. I am shivering while thinking about it.”
The MLA, when contacted on Tuesday, said that she had heard that the police had detained a vehicle in connection with her case.
“They are probing the case and I have full faith in them. I believe I have adequate security cover. Also, I don’t have any personal or political enmity with anyone. Thus, I don’t need additional security arrangements,” she said.
