Bengal minister attack: After getting bail, JU alumnus says he has no problem with police action

Kolkata, Aug 18 (PTI) Jadavpur University alumnus Hindol Majumdar, who was granted bail on Monday in connection with an alleged attack on West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu's convoy, told reporters he had no problem with police action against him.

As he emerged from the Alipore court, Majumdar was greeted by slogans and cheers from Left and ultra-Left students, friends, and family.

Flanked by his retired academic parents, who declined to speak to the media, Majumdar offered a brief but pointed remark.

"I have no problem with what the police did. Police obviously did a good job," he said, in what was widely interpreted as a sarcastic comment on his arrest and transit remand experience.

A spokesperson of Jadavpur University Teachers Association (JUTA) said they were happy that Majumdar was released on bail.

"He will certainly cooperate in the investigation, but what happened to him since his arrival in the country is unfair. A researcher like him, working abroad, cannot be meted out such treatment on his return home. This will create a wrong impression about the way Bengal's talent pool is treated," he said.

He said two varsity professors went to the Alipore court during the day along with a section of students.

Majumdar was accused of plotting an attack on Basu's convoy on the varsity campus in March.

He was granted bail five days after his arrest at Delhi airport.

The accused, a researcher at a Spanish university, was held at Delhi airport on Wednesday, after he landed from Europe in the wake of a lookout circular notice issued against him.

On March 1, Basu was at the varsity's main campus to attend a meeting of the Trinamool Congress-backed professors' body, WBCUPA.

On his way out, the minister faced demonstrations from Left-wing outfits, including the SFI, which were demanding that the long-pending students' union elections be conducted at the earliest.

Basu had alleged that he was physically heckled by the protestors and his car vandalised. PTI SUS MNB