Bengal: Houses of women BJP workers vandalised in Cooch Behar

Kolkata, July 7 (IANS) Houses of three women BJP workers have been vandalised in the Dinhata area of Cooch Behar district in West Bengal, a day after the state Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari’s convoy was attacked in the same district, in which seven Trinamool Congress workers were arrested.

On Thursday, the houses of BJP workers Juthika Barman, Maina Barman, and Purabi Barman were attacked, and they were chased away from their houses. The BJP alleged that Trinamool workers and miscreants were behind the attack.

BJP’s Cooch Behar organisational district president, Abhijit Barman, told media persons that the fresh attack was carried out in retaliation for the arrest of Trinamool Congress workers on Wednesday, accused of attacking the convoy of the Leader of the Opposition earlier this week.

“The ruling workers have been terrorising our party activists and carrying out attacks on them. Earlier, they faced an attack for raising their voices against the terror unleashed by the ruling party-backed goons. Today, the houses of three of our women workers were attacked. One of them is a pregnant woman who has been admitted to a hospital for treatment. We will soon complain to the police,” said Barman.

National Commission for Women (NCW) member Archana Majumdar also reacted to the attack on women BJP workers.

“Just received a desperate call from Smt. Juthika Burman, a Rajbanshi Hindu woman & public representative from Dinhata, Cooch Behar. She was earlier driven out of her home by ruling party goons, returned after @NCWIndia intervention, and today her house is under attack again. This is political terrorism. How long will the state remain a mute spectator?” Dr Majumdar said on her social media handle.

Seven persons were arrested in connection with the attack on the Leader of the Opposition’s convoy at Cooch Behar town. His convoy was attacked after he reached there to participate in a scheduled protest rally.

Adhikari, along with 65 other party legislators, was scheduled to march through the Cooch Behar town to the office of the district police superintendent and submit a memorandum on the attacks on elected BJP representatives in the district in the recent past.

Following the attack, Adkhikari’s lawyer had complained to Cooch Behar SP Dyutiman Bhattacharya through an e-mail against 41 people, including the state’s North Bengal Development Minister Udayan Guha.

BJP President J.P. Nadda has also issued a statement strongly condemning the attack on Adhikari’s convoy.

Nadda said that this was not just an attack on an elected representative; it was an attack on democracy itself.

“Mamata Banerjee must be held accountable for fostering this culture of lawlessness and political violence,” Nadda added.

–IANS

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