Members of the Forward Bloc carry posters of Naren Dey during their protest outside the state assembly on Thursday
Several women members of the Forward Bloc party today held protests outside the state assembly in Kolkata over the attack on a senior party member by suspected Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers.
Naren Dey, a former minister, was reportedly attacked inside the Forward Bloc party office in Hooghly district on Sunday. Mr Dey said that his party was holding a meeting at the office when "a large number of young men rushed in and started beating everyone". He said that he was attacked with "lathis".
Four days since the attack, Mr Dey still lies in hospital but his attackers have not been caught.
The Trinamool, has meanwhile, denied any involvement.
"Everyone is saying Trinamool has done it. We are saying no, according to our information. However, police is investigating and the culprits will be caught," said Partha Chatterjee of the TMC.
The party even claimed that the Forward Bloc members had heckled some women Trinamool supporters on Sunday at Dhaneykhali in Hooghly.
Anisur Rehman of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), however, contested the claim. "But then women should have protested. Why did the men come and beat up the leaders?" he asked, adding that it "was a pre-planned attack".
Meanwhile, in another setback to police investigations, the man who filed the complaint about the attack and named seven alleged culprits today told the police that he wasn't aware of them and that he had named them by mistake.
Left leaders have alleged a reign of terror of the Trinamool workers in the area.