Sandeshkhali: Bengal BJP chief injured after being 'pushed', admitted to hospital

Taki/Kolkata: West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar was injured on Wednesday after he fell on a car's bonnet after being "pushed" by an unidentified woman while addressing a protest programme in Taki, North 24 Parganas district.

Senior party leaders, who witnessed the incident, said it occurred during a chaotic situation involving police personnel who were attempting to bring Majumdar down from the vehicle and halt his speech.

"All of a sudden, a woman wearing a headscarf and a pink saree was seen climbing onto the bonnet. First, she pushed a lady police constable, and then she pushed Sukantada and another policeman," said Archana Majumdar, BJP leader and observer of the Basirhat unit, told PTI.

Police said they have taken note of the incident and are looking into it.

Majumdar was initially taken to Basirhat Government Hospital, where he received initial treatment, according to a doctor at the facility. Subsequently, he was transferred in an ambulance to Apollo Hospital in Kolkata for further treatment by party leaders who were present there.

The BJP MP climbed atop the bonnet of an SUV, which had a police sticker pasted on its windscreen, after police stopped him from proceeding to restive Sandeshkhali on Wednesday afternoon. This area has been witnessing protests over the last one week over allegations of atrocities on villagers.

In a video shared on his X handle, Majumdar was addressing the media from atop the bonnet. A state police personnel and another person, both in uniform, were seen standing beside him. Suddenly, a woman in a saree and headscarf also climbed atop the bonnet. She first pushed a lady police personnel and then pushed Majumdar and another police personnel.

Majumdar, who lost consciousness for some time, was first taken to Basirhat government hospital and then to a private facility in Kolkata for treatment, a party official said.

The ruling TMC, however, mocked Majumdar and accused him of enacting a drama.

"Sukanta Majumdar knows very well that he is going to face defeat from his seat. So he has started practising acting so that he can start his film career," TMC spokesperson Santanu Sen said.

After having been prevented from going to Sandeshkhali by the district administration on Tuesday, the state BJP president put up at a guest house in Taki late in the night following a dharna in front of Basirhat police district SP's office.

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

Majumdar, a Lok Sabha MP from the state's Balurghat constituency, also performed Saraswati puja in the morning on the banks of River Ichamati at Taki, which is situated along the India-Bangladesh border.

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 Sandeshkhali, which has been witnessing protests over alleged atrocities on villagers by goons owing allegiance to the ruling Trinamool Congress.

"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 earlier.

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

A huge police contingent, equipped with riot gear, was seen deployed outside the lodge. Sandeshkhali is around 35 kilometres from Taki.

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

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.