Kolkata, 13 August (H.S.) : Former Trinamool Congress MLA from Naihati, Sanat De, faced strong public opposition on Thursday morning when police brought him to his locality as part of an investigation. A section of local residents raised slogans of “Thief, thief” as soon as they saw him. Sensing that the situation could turn tense, police immediately moved him away from the area.

According to information, police arrested De from Dattapukur on August 8. He is currently in six days of police custody following a court order. As part of the investigation, police brought him to Naihati’s Ward No. 6, Bijaynagar area, on Thursday morning. He was reportedly taken there to facilitate a reconstruction of the sequence of events related to the case.

As news of De’s arrival spread, a large number of local residents gathered at the spot. A section of the crowd began protesting against him and moved towards the police vehicle. Police personnel quickly intervened to prevent the situation from escalating and escorted De out of the area under tight security.

De is facing several allegations, including extortion and issuing threats. In political circles, he is considered close to Naihati MP Partha Bhowmik. When asked about Bhowmik, De reportedly remarked, “He is a dramatist, and his entire life is full of drama.”

Local BJP leaders have alleged that complaints of extortion and threats against De had been raised in the area for a long time. They claimed that these allegations had caused considerable resentment among local residents, which surfaced openly when De was brought to the locality on Thursday.

State minister Arjun Singh also reacted sharply to the protest against De. He alleged that De had subjected people to atrocities and that allegations of atrocities against women had also surfaced. Singh further alleged that De had been involved in incidents such as bomb attacks on the homes of women’s wing workers. He said the treatment De faced on Thursday was “less” compared with the alleged atrocities committed by him.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh