Youth barges into MLA’s house, assaults him; arrested soon after

KOLKATA: A youth has been arrested for allegedly entering the house of TMC MLA and former West Bengal minister Jyotipriya Mallick and assaulting him. The incident took place around 9 p.m. on Sunday at the MLA’s residence in Salt Lake. The accused has been identified as Abhishek Das (30). According to the police, the accused barged into the house and suddenly jumped in front of the MLA, punching him in the abdomen.

Upon hearing Mallick's cries of pain, his security personnel and others nearby rushed in and caught the attacker. The Bidhannagar Police soon arrived and took Abhishek into custody. Abhishek is a resident of Habra in North 24 Parganas district, which is also Mallick’s constituency. During questioning, Abhishek told the police that he had come to ask the MLA for a job. Later, it was found that he had been under treatment at a government mental health centre in Kolkata.

"I was shocked when he suddenly jumped towards me and hit me. I don't know if he was drunk at the time. I haven't seen him before. I can’t imagine anyone from my constituency would attack me,” the MLA said.

Two years ago, Jyotipriya Mallick was arrested by central agencies in a corruption case related to his tenure as Food and Civil Supplies Minister. He was later removed from his post as Forest Minister, and Birbaha Hansda was appointed in his place.