Opposition in West Bengal on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led state government following the emergence of a chilling video that showed a man brutally beating two people, including a woman, on a street as a crowd watches.
Opposition parties CPM and BJP claim the video is from Chopra in North Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district, with the incident reportedly occurring over the weekend. NDTV cannot verify the authenticity of the video.
In the video, a man is seen repeatedly hitting a woman with sticks while a small crowd watches in silence. Despite her screams of pain, the assault continues. The assailant then turns to a man and begins hitting him. Most bystanders, instead of intervening, appear to assist the attacker. At one point, the assailant grabs the woman by her hair and kicks her.
This is the ugly face of Mamata Banerjee’s rule in West Bengal.
The guy in the video, who is beating up a woman mercilessly, is Tajemul (popular as JCB in the area). He is famous for giving quick justice through his ‘insaf’ sabha and is a close associate of Chopra MLA Hamidur… pic.twitter.com/fuQ8dVO5Mr
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) June 30, 2024
According to CPM and BJP leaders, the assailant is local strongman Tajemul, who allegedly has ties with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and is known for delivering “instant justice” in local disputes. The reasons for the assault on the man and woman in the viral video remain unclear. Local police have registered a case and are searching for the accused. Notably, the main opposition BJP has described the incident as the “ugly face of Mamata Banerjee’s rule in West Bengal.”