No question of arresting or harassing Mamata: Buddhadeb

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today ruled out arrest or harassment of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjeee before the upcoming Assembly elections in connection with a 17-year-old case.

"There is no question of arresting or harassing Mamata Banerjee before the Assembly elections," Bhattacharjee told a press conference here.

The CPI-M had yesterday asked the Election Commission to execute all non-bailable warrants, including those issued in connection with violent incidents at Barasat in 1994 in which the police had registered FIRs against Banerjee, among others.

In a memorandum to Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi, who led a team on a two-day review of poll preparedness in the state, the CPI-M referred to the 17-year-old incident at Kacharimore in Barasat in which police had carried out a lathicharge. Then DIG (PR) Rachpal Singh was injured in the violence.

"The police had then registered an FIR against Mamata Banerjee," the CPI-M memorandum had said while referring to the incident in North 24-Parganas district.

Rachpal Singh, now a retired IPS officer, incidentally is now a Trinamool Congress candidate from Tarakeswar seat.

Reacting to the CPI-M memorandum, Trinamool Congress general secretary Mukul Roy had yesterday wondered as to what had prevented the police from taking any action in the last 17 years.