NEW DELHI: Eight persons have been arrested and an FIR registered in connection with an alleged attack on Dilip Ghosh, the West Bengal government has said in a communique to the Election Commission.
BJP Ghosh was allegedly manhandled while campaigning for the Bhabanipur bypoll in Kolkata on Monday.
Earlier, police had registered a suo motu case against unknown persons under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code at the Bhabanipur Police Station after the incident.
Reacting to the development, BJP leader and Union minister Bhupendra Yadav said the arrests prove that an attack on Ghosh did take place.
Soon after the incident, Ghosh had said “There is no point to hold polls if we cannot reach out to voters. People are living in constant fear. If an MP is being attacked, I cannot think that a common person will come out to vote. The election should be stand cancelled as an unbiased poll cannot be conducted,” he added.
Ghosh blamed TMC workers for the incident. The ruling Trinamool however said the entire episode was “staged” to garner attention before the bypoll.
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee is contesting the bypoll to continue as West Bengal chief minister, after she lost the May 2021 assembly elections from Nandigram. BJP has fielded Priyanka Tibrewal against Banerjee.
TMC’s Sovandev Chattopadhyay had won the Bhabanipur seat, but has resigned to make way for Mamata.
The bypoll is to be held on September 30, while the counting will be on October 3.
The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday quashed a plea to withhold the bypoll.
(With agency inputs)