Kolkata, April 6 – Kolkata Police sent a notice to Trinamool Congress MLA Ratna Chatterjee on Monday evening, requesting her to appear for questioning. This followed an incident of vandalism at a local office of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Behala (Paschim) Assembly constituency in the southern outskirts of Kolkata.
Earlier in the day, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against her at the local Parnasree Police Station following a complaint filed by the BJP.
The FIR was registered following instructions from the Election Commission of India (ECI), which is now responsible for general and police administration in West Bengal, amidst the crucial two-phase Assembly elections in the state later this month.
The West Bengal unit of the BJP had earlier complained to the ECI that a group of Trinamool Congress supporters, led by Chatterjee, launched an unprovoked attack at a local BJP office in Behala (Paschim) on Sunday night. This led to acute tension in the area until early Monday morning.
There were scuffles between BJP and Trinamool Congress supporters during the incident. The BJP candidate from the Behala (Paschim) Assembly constituency, Indranil Khan, was also present at the scene.
Later, under his leadership, the BJP’s supporters also staged protests outside the local Parnasree Police Station and filed a formal complaint against Chatterjee.
The BJP also brought the matter to the attention of the Chief Electoral Officer's office and the Commission, following which an FIR was first lodged against Chatterjee as per the ECI's instructions, and subsequently, she was served with a notice for questioning.
Although Chatterjee is the outgoing Trinamool Congress legislator from the adjacent Behala (Purba) constituency, the party nominated her for the Behala (Paschim) constituency this time. The former five-time legislator in that constituency was Partha Chatterjee, who is currently out on bail after serving over three years in prison for the multi-crore cash-for-school-jobs scam.