Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Nand has rejected allegations that a woman tried to attack former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee with a knife outside her Kalighat residence, saying the complaint had “no substance or truth”.
The incident took place on Tuesday evening when Banerjee was reportedly on her way to inaugurate the Durga Puja at Milan Sangha, near her residence. A woman, identified in the report as a civic volunteer, was arrested after police personnel present at the spot intervened.
Nand said the episode was not an attack and that the woman had gone to meet Banerjee, although her conduct appeared differently to supporters present at the location. “This is not an attack. She went there to meet her, but it appeared otherwise to the supporters,” the commissioner told PTI Videos.
According to the police commissioner, the woman was known to Banerjee and her father also knew the former chief minister. Nand said the police personnel stationed at the spot apprehended her and understood the circumstances of the incident thereafter.
A complaint was lodged by Dola Sen, an All India Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament. The complaint alleged that the woman approached Banerjee aggressively and attempted to attack her with a knife. It also raised concerns about the security arrangements in place for Banerjee, who is categorised as a Z-plus protectee.
The police account directly disputes the central allegation in the complaint. Nand said the woman had allegedly been absent from civic volunteer duty for a year, although the report does not provide further details about her employment status, the alleged absence or the sections under which she was arrested.
The episode has placed the focus on security management around a high-profile political figure during a public appearance close to a residential neighbourhood. The reported location near Kalighat and the planned visit to a Durga Puja venue meant that police personnel were present when the woman approached Banerjee.
The commissioner’s statement indicates that the police have treated the incident as a misunderstanding rather than an attempted knife attack. The woman remains connected to the police case through her arrest, while the complaint filed by Sen records a substantially different account of what happened.
Kolkata Police have not, in the supplied report, provided further details about the investigation, the alleged knife or any next legal step. The immediate official position remains that the complaint’s allegation of an attack is unsupported.
