West Bengal assembly faces uproar over Medha Patkar arrest

KOLKATA: West Bengal assembly has witnessed an uproar over the arrest of human rights activist Medha Patkar near Debra in West Midnapore district.

Opposition leader and Trinamool Congress MLA Partha Chatterjee raised a point of order and questioned the arrest of Medha. "How can the government arrest her at Debra which is about 80 kilometre from Lalgarh," asked Chatterjee.

He also demanded immediate release of the rights activist and said that the government had already established a reign of terror and was trying to suppress all the protests against state-sponsored terrorism.

Police sources said that Medha along with her followers had a plan to go to Lalgarh where police action against the Maoists was still on and where prohibitory order under section 144 Cr.PC was still in force.

Meanwhile, the SUCI, an ally of Trinamool Congress condemned the arrest of Medha. SUCI state secretary Provas Ghosh has said in a statement that the police had resorted to lathicharge at Debra in which a number of journalists received serious injuries.

Ghosh also demanded withdrawal of police action in Lalgarh.