Scribe Assault: Asok seeks Deb’s arrest ..Police slammed For not acting on FIR filed by PG Mitra

SNS, Siliguri, 23 June 2014: Former state urban development minister and senior CPI-M leader Asok Bhattacharya today said north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb should be arrested following his alleged assault on a Siliguri journalist. He also slammed the police department for not acting on an FIR filed by veteran journalist PG Mitra against Mr Deb, and filing a case against him so far.

"We strongly condemn the physical assault of a journalist by Mr Deb. Being a minister, he should not have behaved in that fashion. A public representative losing his cool and hitting a journalist is a matter of shame. We also condemn his statement to justify his act that the journalist was mentally imbalanced," Mr Bhattacharya said here.

Mr Mitra, who runs a monthly tabloid, had been to the Trinamul Congress workers’ meeting at the Siliguri Indoor stadium to distribute copies of his tabloid on Saturday when Mr Deb got hold of one of the copies. He alleged that the minister punched him on his face while other Trinamul leaders present there kicked him.

On his part, Mr Deb has said that Mr Mitra was mentally not well.

Police yesterday confirmed they received an FIR from Mr Mitra.

"If the FIR is filed against him, then why is the police department not filing a case? We condemn the role of the police. Mr Deb should be arrested," Mr Bhattacharya said.