Mamata's nephew arrested for 'assaulting a police sergeant'

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Akash Banerjee was on Tuesday arrested along with two others on the charge of assaulting a police sergeant at Kidderpore here in the city, causing embarrassment to her.

Special police commissioner Sivaji Ghosh said that the arrest was made on the ''express instructions of the chief minister now in north Bengal''.

The accused was also charged with pushing an on-duty police sergeant, assaulting him and obstructing traffic, the police said.

The police said that a car was stopped for violating traffic rules as it trespassed into another lane near Vidyasagar setu causing traffic jam.

When a police sergeant asked the car to stop for violating traffic rules, one of the three occupants started abusing him, saying he was the chief minister's nephew and that the police were not doing their duty.

The police said that the chief minister's nephew, son of the second eldest brother of the chief minister, pushed the sergeant and assaulted him. Policemen, led by the officer-in-charge of the Watgunge police station, rushed to the spot, sources said.

All three were taken to the local police station and reportedly let off.

Ghosh said that the arrest was made under non-bailable sections of 353 (assault to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty), 341 (wrongfully restraining a person) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of IPC and 122, 127 of the Motor Vehicles Act.

Of the five sections on which they have been charged, section 353 is a cognizable offence carrying a maximum term of two years imprisonment.

All three would be produced in court on Thursday.

Asked why they were let off initially after they were taken to the police station before they were finally arrested, Ghosh said, ''We received a complaint and are making an inquiry''.

''When the chief minister came to know of the incident before flying to north Bengal, she instructed us to make the arrests immediately,'' the Special CP said.

Meanwhile, a top Trinamool Congress leader, close to the chief minister, said that ''the chief minister has set an example that law is equal to all. She has no family. People are her family.''