Kolkata, July 25: Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday found herself at the centre of a fresh political controversy after a video purportedly showing her pushing aside an on-duty woman police officer during a confrontation with Kolkata Police went viral on social media.
PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
The incident took place at Padmapukur, where police moved to disperse TMC supporters after the Calcutta High Court declined permission to hold a march proposed by Banerjee’s faction of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) over the alleged NEET paper leak.
The Banerjee faction of the TMCP had proposed to take out a rally from Padmapukur to Moulali through CIT Road.
Party leaders claimed Kolkata Police had initially granted permission but later withdrew it, citing Friday’s violence during demonstrations organised by Left student bodies over the same issue.
According to the Trinamool camp, TMCP leader Priyanka Adhikari received an email from the police on Saturday informing her that permission had been cancelled in view of the previous day’s unrest.
The faction immediately moved the Calcutta High Court, which held a special holiday hearing but declined to grant relief.
Following the court order, police began clearing supporters who had assembled at Padmapukur, leading to tense scenes and scuffles between party workers and security personnel.
Police detained senior Trinamool leaders Kunal Ghosh, Baishwanar Chatterjee and several other leaders and supporters, escorting them away in prison vans.
Soon after learning about the detentions, Banerjee reached Padmapukur along with senior party leader Derek O’Brien.
Probe into TMC’s Sebaashray ‘scam’
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday termed TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee’s healthcare outreach initiative ‘Sebaashray’ a “massive scam” and the Lok Sabha MP a “fraudster” while asserting that “once in jail, he would not be out soon”.
The Diamond Harbour MP, who is the nephew of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, unveiled the initiative, offering free consultations, diagnostic tests and medicines, in January 2025 when the Trinamool Congress was in power in the state.
Multiple FIRs have been filed against him over alleged irregularities in health camps, including a woman complaining she lost her leg and a three-year-old girl her arm due to “botched” treatments. (PTI)
