Agartala, (Samajweekly) Tripura Womens Commission chairperson Barnali Goswami was physically assaulted allegedly by BJP workers, including some elected councillors, at Dharmanagar in north Tripura on Tuesday.
Goswami, herself a senior BJP leader, filed an FIR against her attackers with the police and also informed Chief Minister Manik Saha, and the returning officer of the Dharmanagar Assembly constituency.
She said that around 200 women and a few men attacked her when she went to meet a neighbour adjacent to her home.
Goswami indicated that Tripura Assembly Deputy Speaker Biswa Bandhu Sen, who is the BJP candidate in the Dharmanagar Assembly constituency, backed the attackers to assault her.
“I was injured in the attack. The attackers tore my sari and other clothing. The police also did not help me despite several phone calls to the police station,” she told the media.
Goswami said that one of her associates and a body guard were also injured in the attack.
The incident has sparked serious repercussions across the state.
Sen, however, declined to make any comments on the incident. Sen’s supporters said that after Goswami was denied a BJP ticket for the Assembly elections, she started working against Sen.
Rejecting the accusation, Goswami said, “I have never worked against the party or any leader.”
No one was arrested in connection with the incident till late Tuesday night.
Opposition CPI-M and the Congress condemned the incident and demanded arrest of the attackers.
