Kolkata Police has summoned CPI(M) leader and lawyer Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya to two police stations for questioning after cases were registered over his social media reference to alleged attackers as “Hindutva goons”. A police notice requires him to appear at Garfa police station on October 13 and Kasba police station on October 14.
The summons follows an alleged attack on Bhattacharya’s residence in the Purbalok area near the Kolkata EM Bypass on Thursday morning. According to the report, several youths arrived on motorcycles and allegedly threw bricks at the house, breaking windowpanes. Bhattacharya said the attackers had covered their faces and that the motorcycles’ number plates had been concealed with black cloth, making identification difficult.
Bhattacharya alleged that the incident was premeditated and later attributed the attack to people he described in a social media post as “Hindutva goons”. Following the post, two first information reports were filed against him, with the report identifying the Garfa and Topsia police stations in connection with the complaints. The police notice cited cases registered at Garfa and Kasba police stations and directed the CPI(M) leader to attend the stations on separate dates.
The development has placed two related issues before the city police: the investigation into the alleged assault at the residence and the complaints arising from Bhattacharya’s social media statement. The report said a right-wing organisation filed complaints against him after the post, while the police have also begun investigating the alleged attack.
Police have arrested one person, identified as Bappa Guchait, in connection with the incident at Bhattacharya’s home. Guchait is reported to be a resident of the Saha Kalibari area in Narendrapur, in South 24 Parganas. A photograph circulated after the arrest showed him wearing a Trinamool Congress scarf. The report noted that the image may indicate an affiliation, but it remained unclear whether he had changed political allegiance after the change in government following the state Assembly elections.
The report also said that Suvendu Adhikari threatened legal action against Bhattacharya, arguing that the social media post insulted the Hindu community. Adhikari described the post as irresponsible and said that while those responsible for the attack would be investigated, action would also be taken over the alleged insult to the Hindu faith.
Bhattacharya’s scheduled appearances will now form the next formal step in the police proceedings. The investigation into the alleged attack, the arrest of Guchait and the cases linked to the social media post remain separate elements of the ongoing matter.
