E-Paper
Injuries result of an accident: Initial probe, witness accounts
Kolkata: Preliminary investigation by the police and a section of the eyewitnesses hinted on Thursday that the injuries sustained by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram may be the result of an accident and not a deliberate conspiracy
Kolkata: Preliminary investigation by the police and a section of the eyewitnesses hinted on Thursday that the injuries sustained by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram may be the result of an accident and not a deliberate conspiracy. Further investigation is, the police said.
The East Midnapore police registered a case in Nandigram under Indian Penal Code sections 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt).
“No one has been arrested till Thursday evening. So far, we have not found anything which could suggest that it was a deliberate attempt or a conspiracy. But investigation is still going on based on a complaint we have received,” said a senior police official of East Midnapore district.
“We have not received any report on the incident so far. It is still under investigation,” P Nirajnayan, director general of police, said.
On Wednesday evening, Banerjee had alleged that 4-5 men had deliberately attacked her while she was interacting with the public in Nandigram.
But a section of eyewitnesses and a video, which surfaced during the day, hinted that Banerjee was injured when her white SUV hit an iron pillar jutting out of the road.
“When Banerjee saw the crowd gathered on both sides of the road at Birulia Bazar in Nandigram, she half opened the front door and stood on the car. She was holding the car with one hand and was waving the other hand. The car, hit an iron pillar and the door closed with a bang. Banerjee got injured,” said Animesh Das, a local resident.
“There were at least two iron pillars, around the height of a man’s waist, jutting out of the road in Birulia Bazar. The car door hit the first pillar and this led to the accident,” Prabir Samanta, another local resident.
The TMC, however, maintained that it was a ‘deep rooted conspiracy” against the chief minister and demanded an independent investigation. TMC leaders also pointed out that Banerjee’s vehicle had suffered no damage or dents – and used it to disprove the accident theory.
“Some people are concocting a story that the car hit an iron pillar. This is false. There are no scratches or dents on the car door. Some people pushed the door in such a way that it hit Banerjee’s leg with great force,” said Firhad Hakim, state minister.
The BJP too demanded a probe. “We want her to return to the field at the earliest. Else against whom we would score the goal. All her party leaders have shifted to the BJP,” said Dilip Ghosh, state BJP president
