The Trinamool is yet to comment officially on the incident.
Highlights
- Nilima De Sarkar was attacked in two separate incidents
- She was among BJP supporters protesting in near Kolkata on September 26
- She was attacked in the presence of cops and TV news crew
The cameras had already been rolling when the appalling violence unfolded - not once but twice. A supporter of the BJP - a woman - is viciously kicked and thrown to the ground by Trinamool leaders and activists during a protest with startling impunity - first in the presence of cops and then in front of a TV news crew.
The videos were shot last Wednesday, the day of BJP's 12-hour Bengal bandh, have gone viral.
The Trinamool leaders involved in the two incidents were different. The victim was the same - Nilima De Sarkar, a supporter of the BJP.
No arrests have been made in the case yet.
The video of the first attack on the woman was widely broadcast on the day of the bandh. The video of the second attack was circulated on social media on Sunday.
On September 26, Ms De Sarkar was among some BJP supporters who had put up a rail block in Barasat, about 40 km from Kolkata.
Suddenly, Trinamool supporters led by the local panchayat chief, Arshaduzzaman, charged at the BJP supporters. A cellphone video recorded by a witness shows Ms De Sarkar trying run away and avoid blows but is brutally kicked. She goes sprawling on the road in front of a level crossing. A policeman steps forward to stop further attacks on her.
A little later, a reporter approached her to take her interview over the incident. While the camera rolls, she is brazenly attacked again. A Trinamool leader charges at her with a staff in hand and knocks Ms De Sarkar off her feet, sending her flying on the road again.
The attacker in the blue shirt has been identified by the BJP as Qutubuddin, an aide of Arshanduzzaman, the man who kicked Ms De Sarkar first.
The Trinamool is yet to comment officially on the incident.
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