Mamata visits residence of Trinamool worker who died in police custody, faces protests

Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday (August 9, 2026) visited the residence of Trinamool Congress (TMC) worker at Halisahar in North 24 Parganas who was found dead in police custody.

Ms. Banerjee faced protests from locals who raised slogans against her and attacked the vehicle in which she was traveling. The Trinamool Congress chairperson stated that bricks were thrown at her vehicle by Bharatiya Janata Party supporters and blamed the police for the attack. Ms. Banerjee was accompanied by Trinamool Congress MPs Kalyan Banerjee and Dola Sen.

Birju Keot, husband of former Trinamool Congress councillor Jenny Sharma Keot, was arrested by Halisahar police on Friday on allegations including extortion and corruption. He was presented before a Barrackpore sub-divisional court, which remanded him to five days of police custody. On Saturday, Birju Keot was taken to a state-run hospital from police lock-up, where he was pronounced dead.

“I condemn this. Even after a custodial death, they are threatening the family of the deceased,” the former Chief Minister said, adding that instead of providing security to her, the police allowed “lumpens from outside” to attack her vehicle. The Trinamool Congress chairperson stated that her party will appeal to the court over the custodial death.

This was the first occasion after the defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls that the former Chief Minister reached out to a party worker. Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was attacked on May 30 when he visited Sonarpur to meet the family members of a deceased Trinamool Congress worker.

After the defeat of the TMC in the recently concluded Assembly polls, there have been several incidents of arrest of party workers and in many cases people have attacked local leaders of the party. Trinamool Congress leadership has accused that party workers have been at the receiving end of violence after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power.