Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Friday granted protection to six Opposition councillors of the Jhalda Municipality and ordered that police will not be able to take any strict action against them till December 7.
Fearing that they may be implicated in false cases, four Congress councillors had sought protection at the High Court. Justice Rajasekhar Mantha ordered that the police will not be able to take action against four Congress and two Independent councillors till next Wednesday. The Congress, on November 21, had wrested the Jhalda municipality in Bengal's Purulia district from Trinamool Congress (TMC).
In the 12-member Jhalda municipality, Congress and TMC have five councillors each along with two Independents. In the no-trust motion moved against the TMC-ruled civic body chief Suresh Agarwal, seven councillors (Congress five and Independents two) voted in favour of the motion on Monday.
The five TMC councillors did not take part in the voting. Civic elections were held in Jhalda eight months back in which both TMC and Congress got five seats each. The TMC then roped in two Independents and formed the board.
However, in early October, one of the Independents, who had joined TMC after the win, left the party and pledged her loyalty to the Congress. Six councillors then moved the no-trust motion against Agarwal.