TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a section of the media for allegedly maligning the state over the recent incident of mob assault in Ariadha in North 24 Parganas district.
The chief minister, while speaking to reporters at the Kolkata airport, said a two-year-old incident, a video clip of which had gone viral, happened when Arjun Singh was BJP MP of Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency.
Mamata accused a section of the TV channels of showing the old incident repeatedly at the behest of the BJP ahead of assembly by-elections.
"A section of the media and BJP are trying to malign the state a part of their damage control for the defeat that BJP has suffered in Bengal," she said.
Police take action in viral video case
The police initiated a suo motu case and arrested three persons, including local TMC leader and prime suspect Jayant Singh after the old video clip showing a girl being assaulted by a group of people in Ariadaha surfaced.
The accused - Singh, who was arrested in 2023 in another case and was out on bail with a bond promising no further illegal activities, is now facing additional charges for violating bail conditions.
Barrackpore Police Commissioner CP Alok Rajoria on Wednesday stated that eight persons have been identified from the footage, and stringent action will be taken against all those involved.
(With PTI inputs)
