Kolkata, Feb 17 (PTI) A woman, who owns a cafe in south Kolkata, has lodged a complaint with the police accusing the members of a local club, reportedly owing allegiance to the ruling Trinamool Congress, of threatening her after she refused to pay a subscription demanded by them.
CCTV footage of the cafe and a video recorded by the woman on a mobile phone showed that some men were surrounding the eatery and talking to her and some other people in an intimidating manner, they said.
PTI has not checked the authenticity of the videos.
Police said one person who was seen in the footage was detained late Thursday evening.
In her complaint lodged at Lake police station, the woman said a group of people had come to the cafe on Tuesday and demanded a subscription for a festival to be organised by the club.
As she refused to pay, they returned the next day and threatened her. The woman alleged that one man in the group had snatched the mobile phone she was using to record the altercation.
Some unidentified men in motorbikes also tried to stop her car when she was returning home from the police station, she alleged.
“I had to contact the police. My friend drove fast to reach the Jadavpur police station when some policemen from the Lake police station came and escorted me home,” the woman said.
A senior officer of Kolkata Police said that an investigation has been initiated.
The TMC said that such incidents are not desirable and if party workers were involved in it, action will be taken against them.
When contacted by PTI, the chairperson of the state women’s commission Leena Gangopadhyay said that strict action should be taken against the culprits.
“I personally helped the woman in lodging the complaint. This cannot be allowed. Our city is a safe place for women and none should be allowed to breach that. We are monitoring the situation,” Gangopadhyay said.
The club authorities said the festival was called off following the controversy. PTI SCH SBN A woman, an owner of a cafe in the southern part of the city’s Jodhpur Park area, has been allegedly threatened by members of a local club, reportedly having allegiance to the ruling Trinamool Congress, after she refused to pay them a subscription for a scheduled festival in the area, police said on Thursday.
The CCTV footage of the cafe and a mobile phone video recorded by the owner showed some unidentified people were surrounding it and talking to her and some other people in a very intimidating manner, they said.
PTI has not checked the authenticity of the videos.
The alleged incident happened Wednesday late evening, the woman mentioned in her complaint lodged at Lake Police Station, in which she had also accused that one man in the group had snatched the mobile phone which she was using to record the incident.
Her woes did not end there as some unidentified men tried to stop her car when she was trying to return home, she alleged.
“While returning from Lake Police Station, some bikers chased my car, and I had to contact the police. My friend drove fast to reach near Jadavpur police station when some policemen from Lake Police came to my rescue and then escorted me home,” the woman alleged.
The same group of people had come to the cafe on Tuesday, and had given a chart of subscriptions for the festival, the woman said.
The policeman said that the video grabs were collected for investigation. The TMC said that such incidents are not desirable and if party workers were found involved in it, action will be taken against them.
The club authorities said the festival was called off following the controversy.
One person who was seen in the videos threatening the woman was detained by the police on late Thursday evening. PTI SCH SBN NN NN
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Source: The Print
