Tension flared in West Bengal’s Nagrakata on Monday after BJP MP Khagen Murmu and MLA Shankar Ghosh were reportedly attacked by locals while visiting flood-affected areas in the Dooars region. Both leaders sustained injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital. Police arrived at the scene shortly after the incident. Video footage circulating on social media showed the windshield of the BJP leaders’ car shattered and Khagen Murmu bleeding profusely from his nose, while Shankar Ghosh suffered minor injuries and was seen in torn clothes.
According to reports, the attack occurred at Bamandanga near Nagrakata when the vehicle carrying Murmu and Ghosh was separated from the convoy. A group of locals allegedly surrounded the car and began throwing stones picked up from the riverbank. “They tried to hit me on my head,” said MLA Shankar Ghosh, sharing a video on Facebook showing Murmu bleeding inside the vandalised vehicle. “All the windows of our car have been broken and shattered,” he said.
The incident triggered a political storm, with BJP leaders accusing the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of orchestrating violence to prevent opposition representatives from conducting relief work.
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari sharply criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging that the attack reflected her administration’s desperation and loss of control. “Mamata Banerjee is in full panic mode. She has realised (quite late) that the people of West Bengal have despised her inhuman act of dancing at a carnival with celebrities while North Bengal was reeling under floods and landslides,” Adhikari said. “Now, she has unleashed her goons and incited them to attack BJP MPs and MLAs so they cannot engage in relief work. Mamata Banerjee, you can’t intimidate the BJP,” he added.
The BJP’s IT cell head Amit Malviya also hit out at the state government, describing the incident as evidence of “TMC’s Jungle Raj” in Bengal. “Khagen Murmu was attacked by TMC goons while on his way to Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri’s Dooars region to help with relief and rescue efforts after devastating rains, floods and landslides,” Malviya wrote on X. “While Mamata Banerjee dances at her Kolkata Carnival, the TMC and state administration are missing in action. Those actually helping the people — BJP leaders and karyakartas — are being attacked for doing relief work. This is TMC’s Bengal, where cruelty rules and compassion is punished,” he added.
The incident took place amid widespread devastation caused by relentless rainfall over the past 48 hours across the upper reaches of Bengal. Districts including Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, and Cooch Behar have been severely affected by floods and landslides, with 24 lives lost so far. Nagrakata in the Dooars and Mirik in Darjeeling are among the worst-hit regions, with homes washed away, roads submerged, and many displaced.
