Sandeshkhali survivor, BJP LS candidate from Basirhat Rekha Patra gets X category security

The Union Home Ministry on Tuesday granted X-category security to Rekha Patra, Sandeshkhali violence survivor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha elections 2024 candidate from Basirhat. Commandos of the Central Indsutrial Security Forces (CISF) will provide her security, India Today reported. 

The Home Ministry has granted security to 5 other BJP leaders in West Bengal. The party's Lok Sabha candidate from Jhargram Pranat Tudu and the BJP's Lok Sabha pick from Nirmal Saha have got X-category security. The saffron party's Raiganj Lok Sabha candidate Kartik Paul has got Y-category security. 

Its candidates from Jainagar and Mathurapur Ashok Kandari and Ashok Purkait have also gotten X-category security. The BJP candidates were given security cover on the basis of Intelligence Bureau (IB) reports suggesting a risk to their lives. 

The development comes days after a local BJP leader alleged that Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers in Kolkata assaulted her. She suffered head injuries during the incident which took place on Saturday night.

BJP Kasba Mahila Mandal president Saraswati Sarkar alleged that TMC workers attacked her using sharp weapons when she and BJP workers were putting up election banners. Later, Sarkar was rushed to a local hospital and a police complaint was registered at a local police station. 

In a video that went viral on social media, she was seen bleeding as she suffered injuries to her head. In another video, a group of men were seen walking with sticks. Sarkar told reporters that two of her team members were brutally beaten up allegedly by TMC workers. 

Commenting on the incident, Union Minister Smriti Irani wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "Spoke to Saraswati Sarkar, our brave karyakarta from Kasba Mondal, physically beaten and battered by TMC gundas (goons). If this is the brutality in South Kolkata, I shudder to think of the extremities in Sandeshkhali."

Since the Lok Sabha elections have been announced, the Home Ministry has given protection to more than 24 BJP leaders. At present, more than 100 BJP leaders in West Bengal have gotten security from the Central government. Voting for the Lok Sabha polls in Kolkata will be held in the final phase on June 1 and the counting of results will take place on June 4. 

(With inputs from Jitender Bahadur Singh)