A Trinamool Congress councillor from North 24 Parganas district’s Barrackpore municipality was arrested on Sunday evening after an 81-year-old man he allegedly assaulted during a dispute over illegal construction died, police said.
Rabindranath Bhattacharya, a Trinamool Congress (TMC) councillor for the Barrackpore municipality in the North 24 Parganas district, was taken into custody following the death of Tulsi Adhikari.
“A written complaint was filed by the family of Tulsi Adhikari, the deceased, against Rabindranath Bhattacharya, the councillor. Footage from security cameras and accounts of eyewitnesses are being examined. The investigation is on,” Indrabadan Jha, deputy commissioner of police (central) Barrackpore, told reporters.
The confrontation began Sunday morning in Barrackpore’s Ward 23, which Bhattacharya represents. The Adhikari family and neighbours said Adhikari had filed multiple complaints with municipal officials about an illegal construction project adjacent to his home, but his concerns had been ignored.
On Sunday morning, there was an altercation between the councillor and Adhikari’s son on Sunday morning. At some point, the councillor is alleged to have kicked Tulsi Adhikari, who collapsed on the spot. He was rushed to a local hospital but declared dead on arrival.
Former minister and president of the TMC’s district unit Partha Bhowmick said Bhattacharya was expelled from the party for six years. “The police investigation will continue. How the councillor got involved in an incident like this is not clear,” Bhowmick said.
Before he was arrested, Bhattacharya, who is also a lawyer, said he was innocent. “I did not assault anyone. On the contrary, I was assaulted,” he told reporters.
Police said Bhattacharya would be produced before the Barrackpore court on Monday.
