TMC MLA thrashes vendor during eviction drive

The crowd around did not stop the MLA from beating up the vendor. Later, few men, seemingly followers of the MLA took the vendor away from the spot.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Swapan Kumar Beltharia was caught on camera beating a vendor during an eviction drive in Purulia's Kashipur in West Bengal.

A video posted by ANI clearly shows the MLA beating up the vendor, however, Swapan Kumar denied any wrong doing. He even could not recollect the incident. The crowd around did not stop the MLA from beating up the vendor. Later, few men, seemingly followers of the MLA took the vendor away from the spot.

''I did not hit any vendor, don't remember any such thing,'' he told ANI. Swapan Kumar has won the Kashipur (Purulia) seat in 2011.

It may be recalled that there were instances of eviction drives turning violent in West Bengal. In 2016, an Indian Railways official was assaulted and bombs were hurled near a station after Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel who tried to evict hawkers who had set up "illegal" shops at the Baruipur station premises.

OneIndia News