Crematorium scuffle triggers arrest - Charges of assault on Deb and obstruction of duty slapped on protester

Mahananda Mondal after his arrest in Siliguri on Tuesday. (Kundan Yolmo)

TT, Siliguri, Oct. 7: Mahananda Mondal who had filed a police complaint accusing north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb of beating him up last week during the foundation stone laying of an electric crematorium was arrested today on charges of assaulting the minister and government officials and obstructing their duty.

Mondal, a resident of Natunpara in ward 5 of Siliguri, was remanded in judicial custody for a day by the additional chief judicial magistrate’s court here.

He had been charged under sections 447(criminal trespass), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

Police haven’t acted yet on the complaint filed by Mondal, who is in his mid-40s, and his neighbour Subhas Roy who alleged that they had been slapped and kicked by Deb and Trinamul leader Krishna Pal during the foundation stone laying of the crematorium on September 28.

The crematorium is to come up at Ramghat here. Mondal and others had raised protests against the crematorium saying it would cause pollution in the locality when the minister arrived to lay the foundation along with government officials.

“Deb invited a few protesting people for a discussion to the venue. Mondal said during the talks that his was the last word in the area and it was not proper on the part of the minister to lay the foundation of the electric crematorium without consulting him and others. Deb became furious and he and Krishna Pal allegedly slapped Mondal and Subhas Roy. Soon, the protest intensified and Deb and the officials were escorted out of the area by police,” said a source.

On the same day, a sub-assistant engineer of the north Bengal development department filed a complaint against Mondal and Roy. A complaint of assault was filed by the duo against the minister and Pal also.

The Congress and the DYFI alleged that Mondal had been arrested by the police to appease the minister.

Prashant Acharya, EOI: Siliguri police today arrested Mahananda Mondol in the Ramghat case for allegedly harassing the North Bengal Development Department (NBDD) minister Gautam Deb and interrupting in the government’s development project. While the Darjeeling district congress protested against the arrest of Mondol and demanded immediate arrest of the minister and transfer of IC of Siliguri police station. Hundreds of congress protesters under the leadership of MLA Shankar Malakar today staged protest at Siliguri police station. Malakar said, “This is disgusting the person who was beaten by the 

minister and his associate at Ramghat has been arrested. The IC of Siliguri police station Bikash Kanti is working under the instruction of the minister and has arrested the person who has lodged FIR against the minister.” Malakar has also threatened that if the minister is not arrested Congress will call strike in Siliguri after Kali puja. He said, “We will launch aggressive movement after Kali Puja if the minster is not arrested and the IC of Siliguri police station is not transferred.” Partha Chaudhery lawyer of Mondol said that the SJDM have ordered IC Bikash Kanti to be present in the court on Wednesday with the case dairy. His bail plea has been rejected and has been sent to 14 days jail custody.