BJP shares video of TMC leader hiding under bed amid cut-money row

Kolkata: The BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya on Thursday posted a video on social media purportedly showing a TMC leader hiding under his bed to escape a furious crowd, and said the "cut-money scam" in West Bengal was "producing scenes straight out of a political farce".

He said the video was from Cooch Behar district's Mathabhanga, and the locals had surrounded the residence of TMC leader Shahidul Miya, accusing him of extorting Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 from beneficiaries of government housing schemes.

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Malvia said on X that "as investigations tighten and arrests mount, those who once exploited the poor are finding it increasingly difficult to hide, even under a bed".

"The cut-money scam in West Bengal is now producing scenes straight out of a political farce," the BJP leader wrote on X.

"As public anger erupted, the TMC leader hid under his bed to escape the furious crowd. Eventually, police had to rescue him from his hiding place," Malviya wrote along with the video he posted on X.

PTI could not independently check the veracity of the video.

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The BJP leader also said, "From Kakdwip to Namkhana and now Mathabhanga, the story remains the same: cut-money, corruption, and panic.

This came after several people at Mathabhanga in Cooch Behar district last week got back the "cut-money" they paid to local toughs for availing the benefits of government schemes during the previous TMC regime.

The district TMC leadership said the party does not have anything to do with such illegal collection of money from villagers or traders.

After the BJP came to power in the state, the demand for the return of "cut money", taken by local toughs allegedly owing allegiance to the TMC, increased in different places of Mathabhanga, leading the perpetrators to return at least some of the money.

In another such incident, a TMC panchayat member returned Rs 5,000 each to 45 villagers at Patibunia village in Namkhana area of South 24 Parganas district.