Sukanta Majumdar hospitalised after falling down on car bonnet amid Sandeshkhali protest

Kolkata: West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar was injured on Wednesday after losing balance and falling on a car's bonnet, on which he was standing, while addressing reporters in North 24 Parganas district, following which he was taken to a hospital, a party official said.

Majumdar, who was prevented from going to restive Sandeshkhali by the district administration on Tuesday, put up at a guest house in Taki late in the night following a dharna in front of the Basirhat police district SP's office.

The state BJP president, who made attempts to go to Sandeshkhali again on Wednesday morning, was prevented by the police from leaving the area.

Majumdar, also a Lok Sabha MP from the state's Balurghat constituency, was addressing reporters standing on the car's bonnet, when he slipped and fell on it, the party official said.

The incident happened at Taki on the banks of River Ichamati along the India-Bangladesh border.

The car had a police sticker pasted on its windscreen, the official said.

He was taken to Basirhat sub-divisional hospital following the incident, he said.

Earlier in the day, Majumdar alleged that the state police cordoned off the lodge where he put up in Taki to prevent him from heading towards the restive Sandeshkhali, which has been witnessing protests over alleged atrocities on villagers by goons owing allegiance to the ruling Trinamool Congress.

Majumdar said he was scheduled to visit Sandeshkhali in the afternoon to meet the agitators.

"After yesterday's protests, I decided to stay at a lodge in Taki so that I could easily visit Sandeshkhali from here. But since this morning, police have blocked the entrance of the lodge and are not allowing me to move out," he told PTI.

Majumdar claimed he was put under "house arrest", a claim denied by the police.

A huge police contingent, equipped with riot gear, was seen deployed outside the lodge.

Sandeshkhali is around 35 km from Taki.

Responding to the BJP leader's allegations, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh accused the saffron party of trying to "vitiate the atmosphere".

"The allegations are baseless. The BJP is trying to vitiate the atmosphere of the area. They want to disturb the law and order situation," Ghosh said.

Protests persisted in Sandeshkhali for the seventh consecutive day on Wednesday, with a significant number of women taking to the streets, demanding the arrest of TMC leader Sheikh Shajahan and his alleged "gang." The accusations against Shajahan and his aides include forcefully capturing land and sexually harassing women.

Shajahan, wanted since a mob attacked Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers during a raid at his residence in an alleged ration scam, has been absconding since last month.