After Panna Deb, a senior leader of Trinamool Congress (TMC), was arrested and the court sent her to three-day police custody for allegedly abetting the suicide of her niece Rajarshi Deb, TMC held a protest outside East Agartala Women police station demanding her release on Monday.
TMC leader Subal Bhowmik, who led the protest, told ANI: "Panna Deb was arrested out of political vendetta by the police under orders of Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who had recently said in social media that all those who support TMC in the state shall be arrested."
Bhowmik also said, "Panna Deb is totally innocent and so is the deceased's mother Sibani Deb, both of whom used to live with the deceased at a joint family residence in Indranagar."
Sibani Deb also participated in the protest outside the police station.
She informed that her daughter was facing mental illness issues since her husband went missing, and had been under treatment for the last 14 years, something which is known to all including her neighbours.
She said, "Panna Deb is being harassed only because of political reasons and it is inhuman to do politics over a dead person," and added that she wanted her to be released.
Demanding Panna Deb's release, Sibani Deb also said, "Only a mother knows the pain of the death of a child. Four days after her death, I am here because Panna is innocent."
She further alleged unnecessary harassment and police pressure.
Meanwhile, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Sardar Ramesh Yadav said, "On Friday a suicide incident took place in which police had taken suo moto case of unnatural death in which four persons were named in the FIR and among them was a TMC leader (Panna Deb)."
Denying the allegations of the TMC leader, the SDPO said that the arrests have been made on the basis of the investigation.
"People are saying that we have held her unnecessarily. That is not true. We have arrested her on facts and evidence, based on the investigation which was later produced before the court. The court gave three-day police custody," said the SDPO.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor