Purulia, 14 July (H.S.): A social media influencer and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) district youth president were arrested by Purulia Police on Monday night in connection with alleged provocative social media posts and an SC/ST Act case.
The influencer, identified as Tushar Awasthi, runs a Facebook page titled Pashe Achhi Purulia. The police alleged that he had posted provocative videos and content in support of the TMC ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, frequently targeting BJP MP Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato and BJP MLA Sudip Mukherjee.
The other accused, Gaurav Singh, the TMC's Purulia district youth president, was also arrested. The police said the two are additionally accused of threatening and assaulting a youth belonging to the Bauri community. Cases have been registered under cyber crime provisions as well as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Both accused were produced before a Purulia court on Tuesday amid slogans of thief raised by some people gathered at the court premises.
According to the police, the SC/ST case relates to alleged incidents of assault and intimidation involving a Bauri youth during different periods in 2021, 2022 and 2026 at a polling booth in the Munsefdanga area of Purulia town.
Speaking to reporters while being taken to court, Gaurav Singh claimed the case was politically motivated, saying, If you are with the TMC, cases are bound to be filed.
Meanwhile, Sujay Bandyopadhyay, the arrested vice-chairperson of the Purulia Zilla Parishad, was also produced before the court after the expiry of his police custody in connection with the same SC/ST case. He said he was unaware of the additional charges invoked against him.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey
