West Bengal Food and Supplies minister Jyotipriya Mallick alleged on Wednesday that he had received a death threat from Bangladesh. Mallick has accused Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha candidate for the Bongaon constituency, Shantanu Thakur, of being behind the incident.
This comes days after Thakur met with a serious road accident. Thakur had blamed Mallick for the accident.
“My aide got a call from a supari killer in Bangladesh on the morning of May 5,” Mallick claimed while speaking to Scroll.in. “They said that when they came to know I was a minister, they backed off.”
Mallick, who is also the Trinamool Congress’ district president for North 24 Parganas, blamed elements in the area’s Thakur family for the threat. “This was done by Shantanu Thakur,” said Mallick, who has filed a complaint with the West Bengal Police.
The Thakur family refers to the clan that controls the politically influential Matua sect that mostly consists of Dalits of Bangladeshi origin. The Thakur family is deeply involved in state politics. Thakur is the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Bongaon while his aunt Mamata Bala Thakur is the Trinamool Congress’ candidate from the same seat.
Speaking to Scroll.in, Thakur denied the allegation. “He [Mallick] has become mad and is only doing this since the Trinamool is losing Bongaon,” said Thakur.
Thakur also blamed Mallick for his road mishap on Saturday that led to him being hospitalised. “Jyotipriya Mallick tried to kill me,” alleged Thakur.
These charges come in the wake of sustained political violence in West Bengal, including during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
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