Vandalism was reported at multiple Communist Party of India (Marxist) offices and at the residence and office of former Trinamool Congress legislator Debabrata Majumdar across several Jadavpur wards on Saturday evening, with allegations that groups of motorcycle-borne men were involved and criticism of the police response.
The incidents were reported in wards 96, 99, 101, 102, 105 and 106 of the Jadavpur area. According to Anandabazar, party offices were allegedly damaged and party flags removed and thrown to the ground. The area around Majumdar’s residence and office in ward 96 was reported to have seen the most tension.
The report said a CPI(M) office at Kusum Kanan was vandalised and that an attack was also reported at the party’s memorial in ward 96. Incidents were additionally reported in wards 100 and 102, although the source summary identified the wider concentration of allegations across wards 96, 99, 101, 102, 105 and 106.
Majumdar’s office at Bijoygarh market was allegedly damaged. His family also alleged that the attackers went to his home, issued threats and pushed his elder brother. A clash involving Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party supporters was also reported in the area. The identity of those responsible had not been established in the supplied report.
Majumdar’s family alleged that they repeatedly telephoned the police after the incidents began, but that officers arrived about an hour later. The police response and the handling of the incidents became a point of criticism for both the CPI(M) and the Trinamool Congress, according to the report.
Further unrest was reported in wards 101 and 105, where fighting was alleged to have taken place. The office of former Trinamool councillor Tarun Mondal was also reportedly at risk of being vandalised. Local sources said police personnel moved towards the area with batons raised, preventing the situation from escalating further there.
The report also said that incidents were alleged in neighbouring Narendrapur. CCTV footage from the area was said to show one episode, but Anandabazar noted that it had not independently verified the video. The report did not establish whether arrests had been made or whether formal police cases had been registered.
The allegations come amid a series of reported attacks on CPI(M) offices in parts of southern West Bengal. On the previous Tuesday night, vandalism was reported at several CPI(M) offices in Bali, Howrah, including offices on Panchanantala Road and near Belur station. The CPI(M) had alleged BJP involvement, which the BJP denied.
A further attack was reported on Friday at a CPI(M) office in Kodalia, within ward 20 of the Rajpur-Sonarpur municipality. The CPI(M) again alleged BJP involvement. Local accounts linked that incident to a dispute after a building event held to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday, during which a photograph of Modi had been displayed. The BJP alleged that the photograph was later torn on the instructions of CPI(M) leaders, while the CPI(M) office was subsequently reported to have been vandalised.
In the Jadavpur incidents, the BJP had been accused, but the party had not issued a comment at the time of the report. The immediate next steps depend on the police identifying those involved and clarifying the status of complaints arising from the reported attacks.
