Abhishek sends legal notice to Md Salim for ‘defaming’ him on social media

Trinamool Congress MP and party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee sent a legal notice to CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim for allegedly making defamatory posts against him on social media.

The notice has been sent to Md Salim by Abhishek’s lawyer Sanjay Basu. The notice states that Abhishek is a political figure and the national general secretary of the AITC, besides being an MP from Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency. It added that Abhishek has been deeply aggrieved in respect of the “various allegations and defamatory remarks/tweet” allegedly posted by Salim on a social media platform and which tarnished his “integrity, reputation, and mark of character in the society.”

The notice claimed that on Monday (August 07) Md. Salim allegedly took to Twitter to make a false and defamatory post against Abhishek from the Twitter handle namely “@salimdotcomrade” wherein he allegedly made “false, defamatory imputations and/or interferences and/or statements and/or innuendos” against Abhishek.

Salim, according to the notice, wrote on Twitter: “MP-cum-mafia don involved in multiple scams from coal smuggling to teacher recruitment crime shares selfie from NYC. His escape from the country was aided by BJP bosses. Allegedly he used accounts of 15 foreign prostitutes to park his ill-gotten wealth.” The notice also claimed that the tweet was shared along with a news report containing the picture of Abhishek which directly attributes the imputation of such defamatory and derogatory remarks to Abhishek.

Meanwhile, the residence of Md Salim in the Ekbalpore area was gheraoed by sex workers because of his comment that Abhishek allegedly used the accounts of 15 foreign prostitutes to park his ill-gotten wealth. The protesters demanded to know who gave the CPI(M) leader the right to insult sex workers. They began agitation with banners, claiming that his use of the word “prostitute” in such a context has insulted the entire community of sex workers. Police were stationed outside his residence at DH Road under Ekbalpore police station limits.