Indian Secular Front (ISF) MLA Naushad Siddiqui was arrested by Kolkata Police near Science City on Tuesday while he, along with his party workers, was on his way to Sandeshkhali, the trouble-hit island of North 24-Parganas.
Police arrested the Bhangar MLA on charge of violating Section 144 imposed at Sandeshkhali. He was taken to the KP headquarters at Lalbazar by a prison van.
The ISF leader soon after his arrest raised questions, asking, “How did the police arrest me at Science City which is more than 60km away from Sandeshkhali? We were only four in number.”
“Why did the police prevent me from going to Sandeshkhali, while ministers and ruling party leaders are being allowed to go there? They (police) have problems when I want to go there. They couldn’t even show me any notice in connection with the imposition of Section 144,” Mr Siddiqui told reporters.
“I had two separate programmes in Sandeshkhali and Basanti today. But the police are very much proactive to prevent me,” he said.
One senior police officer, in the rank of an assistant police commissioner, deputed on the spot at Science City initially told media that Mr Siddiqui was arrested on charge of violating Section 144. But the officer was apparently silent when the MLA sought clarifications on why the KP imposed Section 144 in the Science City area, which is so far from the trouble-hit area.
Police also prevented Congress workers, led by Soumya Aich Roy from going to Sandeshkhali. The agitating Congress workers staged a sit-in demonstration at Nazat in Basirhat area today in protest against the highhandedness of the police.
Meanwhile, a team of Left sympathisers, including Badsha Moitra and Debdoot Ghosh and theatre personality Sourav Palodhi managed to enter Sandeshkhali today despite strong deployment of policemen in the area.
They spoke to family members of several victims, including women about ruling Trinamul Congress atrocities for years.