Nadia, 27 March (H.S.): Tension prevailed during a poll training session in Ranaghat-1 block of Nadia district on Friday after a teacher, assigned election duty, alleged that he was assaulted for objecting to the screening of a government publicity video.

The teacher, identified as Saikat Chattopadhyay, claimed that during the training at Ranaghat Debnath Institute for Boys, a video highlighting state government schemes and the Jagannath temple project in Digha was shown using a projector.

He alleged that when he objected, citing violation of the Model Code of Conduct, he was threatened and later taken into a room where he was assaulted by staff allegedly linked to the BDO office. He further claimed that he was warned of dire consequences if he spoke out.

Chattopadhyay also expressed doubts over the identity of the alleged attackers, stating that they did not produce any identification when asked.

Some of his colleagues present at the training session protested against the incident. Police later reached the spot after being informed. The injured teacher is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital and has sought intervention from the Election Commission.

However, the Block Development Officer denied the allegations of assault and described the complainant as “mentally unstable”.

The incident has triggered a political row, with BJP MP from Ranaghat Jagannath Sarkar alleging that the teacher was targeted for being associated with the BJP. He claimed that the video shown during training featured promotional content related to the chief minister, and that “outsiders” were involved in the alleged assault.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey