Man who intruded into Mamata Banerjee's house carried iron rod: Police
Kolkata, Jul 5: The man who sneaked into the Kalighat residence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee carried an iron rod, police said on Tuesday.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that the man, identified as Hafizul Mollah, scaled the walls of Banerjee's house early on Sunday and remained seated at a space opposite a hall where the TMC supremo holds press conferences till he was discovered by security guards the next morning, a Kolkata Police officer said.
"He sneaked into the CM's residence, hiding an iron rod under his shirt. We are questioning him to know the purpose of carrying it with him," the officer said.
The rod had fallen on the ground when he tried to escape after being spotted by security personnel at Banerjee's residence, he said.
Though Mollah's family claimed he is mentally unstable, police still suspect his motive of entering the CM's house.
The entire episode will be reconstructed and a Special Investigating Team (SIT) has been constituted to investigate the matter, the officer said.
Investigating officers have also spoken to Mollah's father and wife to find out his medical history. Plans are afoot to examine his mental state, he said.
Mollah had entered Banerjee's residence around 1.20 AM on Sunday and remained inside the premises till 8 AM the next morning when he was spotted by security personnel, who handed him over to Kalighat Police Station.
During interrogation, he claimed that he mistook Banerjee's residence as Kolkata Police Headquarters at Lalbazar but failed to give any plausible explanation as to why he scaled the wall of the premises and for what reason he wanted to visit the police headquarters at that hour.
The incident triggered a security scare with questions being raised about how he went past the Z-plus security cover that the chief minister gets, and entered her residence in a highly secure neighbourhood to spend a night without anyone noticing.
Soon after the incident, police took immediate steps to enhance security in and around the CM's residence.
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LoP Ashoka targets CM govt over corruption, says being 'shameless' in public life not forgivable
Bengaluru (PTI): Targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government in Karnataka on corruption, BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday said, being foolish was forgivable, but being "shameless" in public life was not.
The Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly claimed that in just 30 months of its tenure, the Congress administration has broken every previous record on corruption-related controversies.
He was responding to Siddaramaiah's post on 'X' on Thursday hitting back at the BJP, stating that Upa Lokayukta Justice Veerappa's claims of "63 per cent corruption" were based on his report in November 2019, when BJP's B S Yediyurappa was the CM.
"But Ashoka, without understanding the Upa Lokayukta's statement properly, has ended up tying the BJP's own bells of sins onto our heads and has effectively shot himself in the foot," the CM had said, as he accused Ashoka of foolishness for trying to twist Veerappa's statement to target the current government.
Responding, Ashoka said, "it is one thing to be called foolish in politics, that can be forgiven."
"But in public life, especially in the Chief Minister's chair, one must never become shameless," Ashoka posted on 'X' on Friday addressing Siddaramaiah.
Noting that the CM himself had admitted on the floor of the Assembly that a Rs 87 crore scam took place in the Valmiki Development Corporation, he said that when a CM acknowledges such a massive irregularity inside the floor of the House, the natural expectation is immediate action and accountability.
"But instead of taking responsibility, you continue in office as if nothing has happened. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
Pointing out that the CM's Economic Advisor and senior Congress MLA Basavaraja Rayareddy had publicly stated that under Congress rule, Karnataka has become No.1 in corruption, Ashoka said, "Yet, you still cling to the Chief Minister's chair without a moment of introspection. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness."
Senior Congress MLA C R Patil had exposed the "money for House" racket in the Housing Department and even warned that the government would collapse if the details he has were made public, Ashoka said.
"Despite such serious allegations from within your own party (Congress), you neither initiated an inquiry nor acted against the concerned minister. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," Ashoka asked the CM.
Highlighting the "40 percent commission" allegation Congress made against the previous BJP government, the opposition leader said, the commission that the Siddaramaiah government appointed concluded that the accusation was baseless.
"After your own panel demolished your own claim, what moral right do you have to continue repeating that allegation. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
For the last two and a half years, Karnataka has been 'drowning' in corruption, scandals, irregularities and allegations across departments. Ashoka said, "If I begin listing every case that emerged under your government, even 24 hours would not be enough."
"And the most tragic aspect of your administration is this: the unbearable pressure, corruption demands and administrative harassment under your government pushed several officers and contractors into extreme distress - including the suicide of Chandrasekharan which exposed the Valmiki Development Corporation scam - a sign of how deeply broken the system has become under your watch," he said.
Instead of fixing this hopeless environment, the government has tried to bury every complaint and silence every voice, he charged.
"Being foolish is forgivable, but being shameless in public life is definitely not."
"When your own ministers admit scams, when your own advisors certify Karnataka as No.1 in corruption, and when your own MLAs expose rackets inside your departments - clinging to power without accountability is not leadership. It is shamelessness in its purest form." PTI KSU
Earlier on Thursday Ashoka had demanded that the corruption case and allegations in the state against the Congress government be handed over to a CBI investigation, citing a reported statement by Upalokaykta Justice Veerappa alleging "63 per cent corruption", following which Siddaramaiah hit back at the BJP leader.
