Trinamool Congress MLA and former West Bengal minister Jyotipriyo Mallick was allegedly assaulted by a youth outside his residence in the Salt Lake area of Kolkata on Sunday night.
The youth, identified as Abhishek Das, was later arrested by police.
According to reports, Mallik, who is also known as Balu da, was entering his house after returning from Habra—his constituency—in the North 24 Parganas district when he was attacked around 9 pm.
The attacker, aged around 30 years, punched the legislator in the face and threw him on the road. As the legislator screamed for help, his security staff and others nearby rushed in and overpowered the youth and handed him over to the Bidhannagar police.
The former minister suffered minor injuries to his face.
What prompted the attack
The CCTV visuals showed that the youth had been waiting in front of Mallik’s house since 3 pm on Sunday. It’s not immediately clear why he attacked the MLA.
According to a PTI report, Das told interrogators that he was a resident of the Habra area and wanted to talk to Mallick for a job. It was also revealed that he had been under psychiatric treatment at a state hospital in the city, the report said.
"I am not sure if he was in an inebriated condition. I had never seen him before. It is unimaginable that someone from Habra will assault me," Mallik said.
It may be noted that Mallik was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in 2023 in connection with a ration distribution scam. After spending 14 months in jail, he was released on bail on January 15. |
