- TMC MLA and former minister Jyotipriya Mallick attacked at home in Salt Lake.
- The accused, Abhishek Das, followed and punched Mallick before being overpowered.
- Police say Das, from Habra, had been under psychiatric care.
- Mallick calls the incident a “one-off case”.
GG News Bureau
Kolkata, 3rd Nov: Trinamool Congress MLA and former West Bengal minister Jyotipriya Mallick was assaulted by a youth who barged into his residence in Salt Lake on Sunday night, police said.
The accused, identified as Abhishek Das, aged around 30, was arrested and is being questioned by the Bidhannagar Police. According to officials, Das followed Mallick as he returned home around 9 pm and suddenly attacked him, punching him in the lower abdomen. The incident left Mallick stunned, prompting his security personnel and locals to intervene and restrain the assailant.
Police said Das, a resident of the Habra area in North 24 Parganas, claimed he wanted to speak to Mallick regarding a job. Investigations revealed he had been undergoing psychiatric treatment at a state hospital and had conducted several recces near Mallick’s residence earlier in the day.
“I thought he wanted to meet me like other visitors, but he suddenly lunged forward and hit me. I am not sure if he was intoxicated. I had never seen him before. It’s unimaginable that someone from Habra would assault me,” Mallick told reporters. He described the attack as an isolated incident.
Mallick, who represents Habra in the West Bengal Assembly, had been arrested by central agencies about two years ago in connection with a corruption case related to his tenure as food and civil supplies minister. Following his arrest, he was removed from the cabinet, and Birbaha Hansda took charge as forest minister.
