BJP goons tried to kill me in front of police: Mamata on attack on convoy

Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee faced an angry protest on Sunday, 9 August when she visited the family of Trinamool Congress (TMC) worker Birju Keyot, who died in police custody in Halisahar. Her convoy was stopped as protesters surrounded her car, smeared it with mud, threw a torn slipper and allegedly hurled stones and bricks. Slogans including 'dacoit queen' and 'thief' were shouted as police surrounded the vehicle.

The confrontation added fuel to an already explosive political dispute over Keyot’s death. Banerjee alleged that the protesters were not ordinary local residents but BJP-backed “lumpens” brought in to disrupt her visit and intimidate the bereaved family.

“Bricks were hurled at my vehicle. If the windows had not been closed, my head could have been smashed. I was attacked in the presence of the police. We all could have lost our lives,” she said.

She accused the police of failing to protect her. “Everything happened right in front of the police, yet they did nothing to stop it. Instead of protecting us, they remained silent spectators,” she said.

Banerjee alleged that the violence had been organised by the BJP. “The BJP mobilised lumpens from outside. They hurled filthy abuse and threw large bricks. Look at the car; bricks were thrown all along the road. We strongly condemn and denounce this,” she said.

She also accused the police of protecting those responsible for the protest. “Forget about security; stones were hurled at the car right in front of the police. Outsiders — lumpens — have arrived. The police have mobilised these lumpens to cover up their own failures,” she said.

Banerjee said she had come to stand by the family despite the intimidation. “After beating him to death in the lock-up, they are now coming to the house to intimidate them. We said we would come, and we did. We will file a case,” she said.

The BJP rejected the allegations. State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said the party had no involvement in the protest. “If anyone throws stones, mud, or slippers at the former chief minister’s car, the BJP does not condone it. No BJP worker is involved in this incident, and we do not want such behaviour directed at the state’s former female chief minister,” he said. He added that if the attack had occurred, the police should act immediately against those responsible.

BJP MLA from Bijpur Sudipta Das accused Banerjee of exploiting the death for political purposes. “This is Mamata Banerjee’s old brand of politics. Just as a vulture searches for a carcass, she looks for any death in West Bengal to see how she can grab media attention,” he said.

At the heart of the controversy is the death of Birju Keyot, husband of Jenny Sharma Keyot, a former councillor of ward no. 23 of Kanchrapara Municipality.

According to the family and TMC leaders, Birju was arrested by Halisahar police on Friday in connection with a 2025 case involving allegations of threats and extortion. He was produced before Barrackpore Court, which ordered five days of police custody.

Within hours, however, Birju was reportedly found unconscious inside the Halisahar police station lock-up. He was taken to Kalyani’s Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

His wife alleged that he had been beaten inside the lock-up. “My husband died because he was beaten in the lock-up. I don’t know where to go or what to do with my two children,” Jenny Sharma said. The family has claimed that Birju was in good health before his arrest, but there were several injury marks on his body when they received it. TMC leaders have described the death as a custodial killing.

Police sources said a post-mortem examination and magisterial inquest had been conducted to determine the cause of death. Two senior officers, an ACP and DCP (north), also examined CCTV footage from the lock-up. Barrackpore Police commissioner Amit Kumar Singh said, “The investigation required for an incident of this nature is being carried out.”

TMC leader Amit Gupta alleged that Birju’s name was not even included in the FIR in the case for which he was arrested. Gupta alleged, “The police arrested him to pressure him into revealing information about former chairman Kamal Adhikari. He died due to police torture; blood was oozing from his ears.”

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen, who accompanied Banerjee, said, “The MLA himself came and intimidated them.”

Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee also demanded action against the police. “I believe this is a custodial death, and whenever a custodial death occurs, those responsible must be brought to justice,” he said.

He alleged that the family had been threatened and confined. “The people of West Bengal and the entire country deserve to know the truth. I demand strict action against everyone responsible, beginning with the concerned police officials,” he said, also alleging that Birju had been picked up late at night and taken to a women’s hostel, where he was beaten. “These allegations must be thoroughly investigated, and justice must be delivered,” he said.

He went further, accusing chief minister Suvendu Adhikari of controlling the administration through the police and alleging a conspiracy behind the attack on Mamata Banerjee. “Suvendu Adhikari hatched a premeditated plot to kill Mamata Banerjee here today,” he claimed.