Senior advocate and former CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya has alleged that unidentified persons attacked his residence in the Purba Jadavpur police station area of Kolkata early Thursday morning, hurling glass bottles at windows, breaking the glass and verbally abusing him.
Bhattacharya alleged that the attack was carried out by “Hindutva goons”. According to his account, the incident took place at around 5 am, when a man arrived on a scooter and began throwing liquor bottles at the glass windows of his house. Several others were allegedly present behind him. Bhattacharya also claimed that his domestic help narrowly escaped injury during the incident.
Footage from the residence’s CCTV cameras reportedly captured a man with his face covered by a cloth arriving on a motorcycle, taking glass bottles from a bag and throwing them towards the house. The audio allegedly records threats directed at Bhattacharya, including the words, “Don’t mess with us. We are patriots.” The authenticity of the footage, however, has not been independently verified by the publication cited in the original report.
Speaking about the incident, Bhattacharya said, “Hindutva supporters have done this. They think they will teach me a lesson. This is how they are trying to teach me one.” He added, “Those who are fighting for poor people are the ones being attacked.”
Bhattacharya said police visited his residence following the incident and that he had informed them about how and when the attack allegedly took place. He added that he would take whatever further steps were necessary.
The incident has raised concerns among sections of the legal fraternity, with lawyers expressing apprehension over an alleged attack on the home of a senior member of the profession. Advocate Firdous Shamim said the matter would be brought to the attention of Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Ravindra V. Ghuge.
Allegations of Attacks on Lawyers Raise Concern
The alleged attack comes amid a series of reported incidents involving lawyers in different parts of West Bengal.
Last Saturday, left-leaning advocate Shamim Ahmed and fellow lawyers allegedly came under attack while returning from Shalbani in West Midnapore. Ahmed said they had visited Benachapara to meet families who had been displaced from their homes. He alleged that their vehicle was attacked in the presence of police personnel and damaged with bamboo poles, crowbars and sticks. He also alleged that a woman lawyer accompanying the group was molested. The lawyers were subsequently rescued following the intervention of the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice, according to the account provided.
In September, advocate Sayan Bandyopadhyay was allegedly targeted with eggs while appearing on behalf of SFI supporters at the Baruipur court. Bandyopadhyay claimed that members of the ABVP, the student organisation affiliated with the RSS, staged a protest and raised slogans against him before eggs were thrown at his black lawyer’s coat. His associates were also allegedly attacked. A further egg-throwing incident targeting him was reported outside a CPI(M) party office in Padmapukur.
The Calcutta High Court took suo motu cognisance of the incident involving Bandyopadhyay and directed notices to be issued to the parties concerned. During a hearing on Wednesday, advocate Shubhankar Nag reportedly submitted that lawyers were being attacked in different parts of the state.
Another confrontation was reported at the Bankshall court last week, when a YouTuber arrested over allegedly objectionable social media remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari was brought before the court. Protesters allegedly threw eggs at the accused. Lawyers who objected to the incident claimed they were assaulted, prompting members of the legal fraternity to observe a work stoppage in protest.
In a separate incident, lawyers at the Chandannagar subdivisional court allegedly faced harassment when they objected to an obstruction on the route to the court as part of an activity associated with a central government initiative. Lawyers subsequently locked the court's main gate and suspended work in protest.
Political Reactions
Former West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee condemned the alleged attack on Shamim Ahmed. In a social media post, she wrote, “West Bengal can never tolerate a culture of intimidation and jungle raj.” She added that lawyers, irrespective of their political beliefs, must be able to perform their professional duties “without fear”.
The political controversy intensified after Madan Ruidas, the BJP's state general secretary of its Scheduled Caste Morcha, reportedly posted a message on social media following the alleged attack on Shamim. Addressing Bhattacharya, Ruidas wrote, “Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya will remember this day. Because what happened was what you deserved — this is not Kolkata, this is Garbeta.”
