Kolkata: Former CPM Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Bikash Bhattacharyya’s home in Kalikapur was vandalised early Thursday by a masked biker who hurled empty liquor bottles at the house, smashing several window panes.Footage from CCTV cameras showed the motorcycle-borne goon stopping in front of Bhattacharyya’s residence at Purbalok at around 5.35 am, taking out empty bottles from a bag and hurling them at the house while shouting abuses before fleeing towards Daspara Bridge. Audio from the recording captured the assailant saying, “Don’t come after us, we are patriots.”In a social media post and later addressing news persons, Bhattacharyya described the incident as a “highly calculated” attack by “Hindutva goons”. “The goons arrived with their faces and motorcycle number plates covered. If they aren’t terrorists, then who are? I will not be intimidated. I have decided to seek a firearm licence from the Kolkata Police Commissioner for safety,” he said.Bhattacharyya, along with former bureaucrat Jawhar Sircar, has convened a citizens’ convention in Kolkata on Oct 13 to address pressing national issues, including SIR of electoral rolls. Actor-politician Prakash Raj is also scheduled to attend it.In an FIR filed with the police, Bhattacharyya said the assailant used filthy language insulting female family members and issued death threats. “I am used to social media trolls and death threats. But this is the first time an attempt has been made to physically harm me and my family,” he said.Calcutta High Court Chief Justice R V Ghuge urged govt to conduct a proper investigation into the incident and sought a report.The attack on Bhattacharyya’s home comes a day after CJ Ghuge voiced concern over untoward incidents on court premises. The HC is already hearing a PIL regarding two recent assaults — one on CPM member and senior advocate Samim Ahmed while providing legal assistance to people facing eviction in West Midnapore’s Garbeta and an egg attack on lawyer Sayan Banerjee at Baruipur court premises.During proceedings on Thursday, a group of lawyers, including Trinamool MP and senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee, raised the attack on Bhattacharyya’s house before the HC. Banerjee claimed families of legal professionals are terrified, prompting the Chief Justice to advise him to keep faith in the judiciary. Additional advocate general Rajdeep Mazumder assured police action, while mentioning a past incident where posters were pasted outside a sitting HC judge’s home during Trinamool regime.Following Bhattacharyya’s written complaint, East Jadavpur police registered a case under multiple penal sections. Intelligence inputs suggest the suspect may be a resident of Bikash Guha Colony or adjacent areas under Panchasayar police station.“We are working to identify and apprehend the accused. Plainclothes surveillance has been deployed, a police picket has been stationed near the residence and strict vigil is being maintained across the Purbalok area,” said additional CP (Crime) Kunal Aggarwal.Mamata Banerjee strongly condemned the incident on X: “I strongly condemn such continuing attacks on the legal fraternity. While Bikash da and TMC have often differed ideologically and legally over the past 15 years, the line of decency was never crossed. Today, voices of dissent are being crushed from Parliament to local bodies and courts of law. As an advocate myself, I stand in solidarity and call for the unity of advocates irrespective of political beliefs to save the Constitution, the Bar, the Bench, and the nation.”Speaking to reporters at the airport before departing for Delhi to attend the Congress’s anti-Gyanesh Kumar protest, Banerjee added that she had spoken with Bhattacharyya and would visit him upon her return.Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharyya denied BJP’s involvement and suggested it could be the result of personal enmity. BJP chief spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said, “This is wrong and nothing can justify violence. Some may harbour personal grudge against him. While many may feel angered by his statements, attacks on a veteran communist are unacceptable, and no one in BJP is responsible. However, this cowboy culture of applying for firearms must also be condemned.”
