Eight people have been arrested and three police officers placed under suspension after Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan's convoy was attacked at Panchkuri village in West Midnapore district of West Bengal.
Muraleedharan was visiting an area hit by post-poll violence on Thursday when a group of people attacked his convoy with bamboo sticks and pelted stones at the vehicles. The minister later alleged in a tweet that the "TMC goons" were behind the attack.
The incident has further escalated the ongoing tension between the Centre and the Mamata Banerjee government over a spate of violence in the state since the election results were announced.
"I went to West Midnapore to meet party workers who have been attacked and their homes were vandalised. I was moving from one house to another with my convoy and then all of a sudden a group of people started charging towards us and attacked," Muraleedharan told news agency PTI.
The BJP alleged that the attack took place despite the presence of police personnel. "TMC-sponsored violence is in full swing in West Bengal after assembly elections in the state," party president J.P. Nadda said.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar called it a state-sponsored violence and demanded special special measures to bring the culprits to justice. “If a minister's convoy can be attacked, then who is safe in Bengal?,” he asked.
Central team in Bengal
A four-member fact-finding team of the Union Home Ministry, tasked with looking into reasons for the post-poll violence in West Bengal, arrived in the state on Thursday.
Led by an additional secretary of the ministry, the team visited the state secretariat and held a meeting with the home secretary and DGP, sources said.
The team, which will also assess the ground situation in the state, is likely to visit several areas in the city as well as South 24 Parganas, Godkhali, Sunderbans and Jaggadal, they said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that 16 people have lost their lives in post-poll violence in the state.
The BJP has alleged that TMC-backed goons have killed a number of its workers, attacked women members, vandalised houses and looted shops.
Rejecting the charges, Banerjee had Wednesday said violence and clashes were taking place in those areas where BJP candidates emerged victorious in the assembly polls.
(With PTI inputs)
