West Bengal: Woman throws shoes at Partha Chatterjee

KOLKATA: A woman, a resident of West Bengal’s Amtala area, on Tuesday took off her pair of shoes and made an attempt to throw her footwear at suspended Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee when the latter was being escorted out of a hospital here by Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials.

It, however, missed its mark. The incident took place when the arrested former TMC leader was taken by the ED officials to the ESI Hospital in Joka for a medical check-up The middle-aged woman, Shubra Ghorui, is said to have harboured anger against Chatterjee after the seizure of around Rs 50 crore in cash, along with jewellery, by the Enforcement Directorate from two apartments of Arpita Mukherjee, a close associate of the suspended TMC leader ''I had come here to hit (Partha) Chatterjee with my shoes. After 'cheating’ people he is travelling in AC cars. He must be dragged with a rope…I will walk back home barefoot.

''It is not only my anger but that of lakhs and lakhs of people of West Bengal,'' Ghorui told reporters.

The veteran leader, who has been relieved of his ministerial responsibilities, was then whisked away in a vehicle from the hospital premises by ED security personnel.

''I would have been very happy if the shoes had hit him. I will not take the shoes back,'' the woman stated.

Ghorui had gone to the facility for a medical examination of her relative. Both Chatterjee and Mukherjee were arrested by the ED on July 23 in connection with its probe into the multi-crore teacher recruitment scam.

The arrested leader was taken by the ED officials to the ESI Hospital in Joka for a medical check-up and police had put up tight security arrangements inside the premises.

In the past, many politicians in the country have been targeted by angry people with shoes and slippers.

An Aam Aadmi Party Sena member had hurled a shoe at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a press conference in the national capital in 2016. Former finance minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram had narrowly escaped being hit by a Sikh journalist's shoe in April 2009.