Amidst a string of viral videos showing local Trinamool Congress leaders taking the law into their hands, a fresh video surfaced on Tuesday, in which a woman councillor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation can be seen beating up a youth leader of her party.
The short video shows Sunanda Sarkar, the Trinamool Congress councillor for ward number 18 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, slapping Kedar Das, the party’s youth president for the ward, landing several blows.
The video was aired on several local television news channels, triggering strong reactions in political circles.
Extortion allegations
Ms. Sarkar told media persons that Mr. Das had allegedly accused her of being involved in several extortion cases. She said that she has made several representations to the police but they have failed to act in the case.
Mr. Das’ supporters alleged that the councillor and her family members were engaged in illegal activities. The issue of factionalism within the Trinamool Congress has been the subject of much discussion in the party’s rank and file recently.
Ever since the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, the Trinamool Congress has been grappling with a slew of similar videos. Several weeks ago, a video of local Trinamool Congress leader Tajmul Islam flogging a woman at Chopra in Islampur triggered outrage. More recently, videos showing Jayant Singh, a local TMC leader from Kamaharti, beating up people at a local club for petty allegations of theft, have dominated politics in the State.
Though both these local leaders have been arrested by the police, the controversy of kangaroo courts and public torture is refusing to die down.