Seven people have been arrested in connection with the attack on West Bengal Assembly LoP Suvendu Adhikari’s convoy in Cooch Behar. The incident took place on Tuesday, August 5, and police swiftly apprehended the accused. The arrested individuals hail from different localities. An investigation is ongoing to determine the motive and identify any more involved.
The BJP said “murderous attempt”, allegedly by TMC supporters during a protest programme in Cooch Behar on Tuesday, sparking widespread tension in the North Bengal district. The Trinamool Congress, however, rubbished the allegations and called it a “well-scripted drama” by the BJP to hog the headlines ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
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The bulletproof glasses of the vehicle in which Adhikari and former Union minister Nisith Pramanik were travelling were smashed during the assault in the Khagrabari area of Cooch Behar. A police escort vehicle was also vandalised, with its window panes shattered, prompting the BJP to call it a “murderous attempt” carried out in full public view, allegedly with police inaction.
Following the incident, the Union Home Ministry officials talked to Adhikari and Pramanik over the phone. According to sources, Adhikari told officials that “if it weren’t for the bulletproof vehicle, I could have been killed today.Armed with a Calcutta High Court order, Adhikari had travelled to the restive district to lead a BJP rally and stage a demonstration outside the office of the Cooch Behar Superintendent of Police, to protest the alleged brutalities unleashed on BJP workers and to submit a memorandum.
A close aide of the senior BJP leader said that once Adhikari returned to Kolkata, additional central forces were deployed to escort him as a precautionary measure.
TMC workers held simultaneous demonstrations in 19 locations across Cooch Behar district, many of which fell along the route taken by Adhikari’s convoy, to protest what they claimed was the "harassment of Bengalis in BJP-ruled states" and the Centre’s alleged "attempts to implement NRC through backdoors in Bengal".
Adhikari’s convoy was greeted with 'go-back' and 'thief' slogans near Ghoksadanga. The black flag protests intensified near Khagrabari around 12:35 p.m., and the convoy was attacked.
"The TMC assembled Rohingyas who infiltrated this region and made them carry out the attack," Adhikari alleged. "They tried to smash the car in which I was moving with rods and sticks and, after they failed, shattered the bulletproof glass with heavy stones. I survived only because of the bulletproof vehicle," he said.