Arrested Trinamool leader exposes Mamata, was told to flee

Kolkata, March 8: Exposing the ever righteous

and her party,

leader Mohammad Iqbal, a key accused in the murder of a

officer, has claimed that he was asked to abscond by his party leadership.

In fact, following the police "inability to arrest the culprits", Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had removed Police Commissioner RK Pachnanda.

Iqbal was arrested Thursday night from Dehri-on-Sone in Bihar 23 days after special branch officer Tapas Chowdhury was shot dead in broad daylight in the city's Garden Reach area during a clash between student activists. He has been charged with rioting and attempt to murder.

"I did not flee Kolkata because of the murder but was asked by party leaders to lie low. I was asked by Trinamool leaders to abscond and evade arrest," Iqbal told a news channel today.

Twelve people, including Subhaan, an aide of Iqbal, are currently behind bars for their role in the violence.
The Trinamool councillor and chief of the borough committee was seen at the spot of the incident, threatening a policeman and mobilising his supporters.

Police officer Chowdhury was killed while he was trying to control clashing Trinamool Congress and Congress students at the Harimohan Ghosh College. The violence erupted over the issue of picking up nomination forms for the students' union polls.

Video footage aired by television channels showed Iqbal standing beside Sheikh Subhaan, the man who was caught on TV firing the bullet that allegedly killed the policeman.

Soon after the video footage was aired, Trinamool leader and Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim defended Iqbal saying "he was not involved".

Hakim's "shielding" of Iqbal attracted criticism from several quarters with opposition Left Front demanding his removal as a minister and accusing him of being involved in the incident.

OneIndia News