Angry residents of Halisahar in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district hurled shoes, mud and stones at Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and former chief minister Mamata Banerjee's car on Sunday afternoon when she went to meet the family of a TMC worker who died in police custody on Saturday.
Banerjee remained unhurt as she did not leave the car when the incident happened.
The agitators, who did not carry any party flag and claimed to be local residents, said they got angry because Banerjee had never visited that area while in power. Slogans such as "go back" and "thief" were raised.
Banerjee targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and said, "We would have died if any of the stones had hit us. This was planned by the BJP as it did not want me to talk to the family of our party worker."
{{/usCountry}}Banerjee targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and said, "We would have died if any of the stones had hit us. This was planned by the BJP as it did not want me to talk to the family of our party worker."
{{/usCountry}}Mobs had earlier hurled eggs and verbally abused several top TMC leaders, including Abhishek Banerjee and Mahua Mitra, since the party's defeat in the assembly polls in May, this was the first time Mamata Banerjee faced such a situation.
TMC Lok Sabha member Kalyan Banerjee accused the state administration for allowing BJP workers to hurl shoes and mud at a former chief minister's car.
"This was a conspiracy to murder Mamata Banerjee. One of our workers was killed by police in custody and today Mamata Banerjee was attacked. The director general of police must resign immediately," Kalyan Banerjee said.
BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya condemned the incident saying workers of his party were not involved.
"The way they (TMC leaders) are saying that there was an attempt to kill a [former] chief minister it seems they have not gotten over the hangover of power. This was mass outrage. Our party workers were not involved in the incident but we condemn such gross misconduct. Mamata Banerjee is a former chief minister. People can show black flags and shout slogans but nobody can treat her like this. This is not Bengal's culture," Bhattacharya said.
Urban development minister Agnimitra Paul said, "If anyone thinks that he has done a great job in the name of the BJP, then he is wrong. He will be punished. How can a woman, who is a former chief minister, be treated in this manner? We condemn it."
A political row erupted on Saturday after a local Halisahar TMC leader died in police custody. His arrest was based on an August 1 complaint by a woman.
The victim, Birju Keot, was the husband of Jenny Sharma Keot, a former councilor of the TMC-led Kanchrapara municipality.
“My husband was arrested on Friday and taken to Halisahar police station. During the day he was taken to a hospital for a mandatory medical checkup and brought back to the police station in the evening. I met him around 9pm to give him some clothes. He was fit at that time,” Jenny Sharma Keot said.
“He was beaten up inside the police station later at night. The body bore injury marks on the hand, back and legs. Blood had oozed out of his ears," she said.
The local police said Birju Keot was booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Indian Arms Act and was charged with cheating, assaulting and outraging the modesty of a woman.
“He fell ill on Saturday morning and was rushed to the JNM Hospital at Kalyani in Nadia district where the doctors declared him dead. An enquiry by a judicial magistrate has been ordered,” a senior Barrackpore city police officer said.