Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and MP Sougata Roy claimed he received death threats after the arrest of TMC strongman Jayant Singh, who was involved in a viral video showing a girl being assaulted inside the Ariadaha Taltala Sporting Club. The caller threatened to shoot Roy if Singh, who is reportedly close to TMC MLA Madan Mitra, was not released.
Roy received the threat calls at 3 am, with the caller demanding his intervention for Singh's release and warning him against visiting Ariadaha. Roy reported the incident to the Commissioner of Police of Barrackpore, providing the caller's number, which played an audio message in a South Indian language when he called back.
Roy expressed frustration with the West Bengal Police's handling of criminals like Singh, questioning why stricter legal actions were not enforced to prevent such individuals from obtaining bail. Despite the threat, Roy stated he would not ask Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for increased security to avoid impacting his public interactions.
Jayant Singh, a local TMC leader, was arrested on June 30 in connection with the assault of a teenager and his mother. A viral video showed several men violently assaulting the girl, which drew severe criticism from the BJP. Madan Mitra, the MLA from Kamarhati, claimed he had informed the police about misconduct at the club but no action was taken. TMC maintained the video was from 2021.
BJP's Bengal president, Sukanta Majumdar, accused TMC of fostering "talibans" across Bengal, alleging that Singh was associated with Madan Mitra and was functioning as a mafia figure, building a parallel army that threatened national security.
