Congress KMC poll candidate stripped, beaten up in Kolkata; TMC denies charge

Kolkata, Dec 20: The Congress on Monday alleged that a party candidate for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) election was stripped down to his underwear and beaten up by TMC supporters in the northern part of the city.

A video of the incident which took place on Sunday night, hours after the polling ended, has gone viral on social media. A TMC leader denied that its supporters were involved in it. Rabi Saha, the Congress candidate for the KMC ward no 16, went out to buy some goods when he was surrounded by a few men who started abusing him for contesting the polls.

In the complaint lodged with the police, Saha said when he protested, he was stripped down to his underwear and severely beaten up. He was later admitted to a state-run hospital. State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury condemned the incident. "'Didicracy' in Bengal manifests its uncouth face where a Congress candidate is being stripped off and beaten black and blue in the full glare of public as he dared to contest the #KMCElection2021," he tweeted.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee is addressed as 'Didi' by his followers. A senior TMC leader, who did not wish to be named, claimed that none of the party workers was involved in the incident. The police will investigate the matter and bring out the truth, he said.

Police said they have started an investigation and the culprits will be nabbed soon. Sporadic incidents of violence, including hurling of crude bombs at two booths, marred the KMC elections. Votes will be counted on Tuesday. PTI