Kolkata, 1 September (H.S.): A booth president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was allegedly beaten up in Tufanganj, Cooch Behar, after he refused to defect to the Trinamool Congress (TMC). The incident reportedly took place on Sunday night, and the injured leader, Amrit Das, is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital. TMC has, however, denied the allegations.

According to the complaint, Das was forcibly taken to the TMC party office at Mansai Bazaar, where he was allegedly thrashed for rejecting repeated pressure to join the ruling party. Speaking from his hospital bed, the BJP leader said, “I have been fighting for the BJP for years and have spoken out against TMC’s corruption. Out of political vendetta, they tried to pressure me several times to switch sides. Last night, when I went to Mansai Bazaar, I was dragged to the TMC party office and brutally beaten. They even threatened to set my house on fire if I spoke about the incident.”

Das said he plans to lodge a formal complaint with the police. Meanwhile, the TMC leadership has strongly denied the charges. Police from Boxirhat station rushed to the spot on Sunday night after receiving reports of unrest. An investigation into the matter is underway.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh