The leader of opposition in the Asansol Municipal Corporation (AMC), Chaitali Tiwari, was grilled for two hours today by Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate (ADPC) officers today in connection with the 14 December stampede incident that saw the deaths of three people. This is the second time officers of ADPC had questioned Ms Tiwari in connection with the incident.
Last Saturday they questioned her for two hours at her residence in Bhanga Panchil area of Asansol South Police Station. Seven police officers led by an assistant commissioner of police and including women police officers grilled her today. Earlier, Chaitali Tiwari and her husband Jitendra Tiwari moved Calcutta High Court seeking relief after police issued her a summons to appear for questioning in connection with the incident. The court granted them relief but directed Chaitali Tiwari to cooperate with the police investigation.
During the ill-fated blanket distributionfunction at Ramkrishna Dangal under ward. number 27, Ms Tiwari, the local councilor who was the organizer of the event and BJP leader of opposition in the state Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari. and former AMC mayor Jitendra Tiwari were present during the early part of the programme. After they went away the crowd rushed to the podium to collect blankets and in the crush a baby and two women were killed and nine others injured.
The son of one of the victims lodged an FIR and already seven BJP supporters have been arrested. The state government meanwhile handed over ex gratia cheques to the families of the victims. A TMC delegation led by four ministers also met with the families of the victims. Jitendra Tiwari told media persons today that the police is harassing his wife and unnecessarily interrogating her for long periods. She is sick and the case is politically vindictive, he has alleged.