Malda: Chanchal police on Monday night arrested suspended Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) leader AB Soel for allegedly burning a portrait of Rabindranath Tagore during a protest.
He was picked up from Nayatoli village under Malatipur’s Bhakri Gram Panchayat and produced before the Chanchal Sub-Divisional Court on Tuesday noon. The court remanded him to two days of police custody.
Soel, who had been president of TMCP’s Chanchal College unit, was suspended from the organisation hours before his arrest. On Monday evening, TMCP state president Trinankur Bhattacharya dissolved the Chanchal College unit and announced disciplinary action against Soel.
The controversy erupted on September 2 when TMCP’s Chanchal unit staged a protest against the dismantling of a stage set up by Trinamool Congress in Kolkata. During the demonstration, BJP alleged that students burnt Tagore’s portrait, sparking sharp criticism.
Reacting to the arrest, BJP’s South Malda district president Ajay Gangopadhyay marked the arrest as a drama to save face. Countering the allegations, district TMCP president Prasun Roy said: “Our party respects all national icons. The accused has already been expelled and the law is
taking its course.”