<p>Six activists belonging to CPM and its youth wing SFI have been arrested for heckling West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and finance minister Amit Mitra during their visit to the Planning Commission office on Parliament Street on April 9.<br /><br /></p>.<p>City CPM unit secretary PMS Grewal, state committee member Nathu Prasad, Students’ Federation of India general secretary Ritabrata Banerjee, Suman, Asha Sharma and Anju Jha were held on Monday after police analysed video footage of the incident.<br /><br />“They face charges under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 332 (causing hurt) and 353 (assault) of the Indian Penal Code,” a police officer said. <br /><br />They were produced before Patiala House court and were granted bail.<br /><br />The arrests came after a probe was ordered by Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde. On Monday, the Trinamool Congress had also warned that it would not allow Parliament’s Budget session to function till they were arrested. TMC MPs had raised slogans against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, criticising him of government inaction in the matter. Mamata and Mitra had gone to Yojana Bhawan to discuss the state’s annual plan when they were heckled in a protest against the death of an SFI member in Kolkata Police’s custody. Mamata had alleged that the protesters tried to hit her with an iron rod.<br /><br />Mitra was pushed around while trying to enter the building, and a woman thumped him twice on his chest. His kurta was also torn in the melee. The 65-year-old was later put under medical observation at AIIMS. <br /><br />Following the incident, Mamata called off her meetings with the Prime Minister and Union finance minister P Chidambaram and returned to Kolkata.<br />Last week, SFI had apologised for the attack. Ritabrata insisted that he was not directly involved in the assault.</p>
<p>Six activists belonging to CPM and its youth wing SFI have been arrested for heckling West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and finance minister Amit Mitra during their visit to the Planning Commission office on Parliament Street on April 9.<br /><br /></p>.<p>City CPM unit secretary PMS Grewal, state committee member Nathu Prasad, Students’ Federation of India general secretary Ritabrata Banerjee, Suman, Asha Sharma and Anju Jha were held on Monday after police analysed video footage of the incident.<br /><br />“They face charges under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 332 (causing hurt) and 353 (assault) of the Indian Penal Code,” a police officer said. <br /><br />They were produced before Patiala House court and were granted bail.<br /><br />The arrests came after a probe was ordered by Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde. On Monday, the Trinamool Congress had also warned that it would not allow Parliament’s Budget session to function till they were arrested. TMC MPs had raised slogans against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, criticising him of government inaction in the matter. Mamata and Mitra had gone to Yojana Bhawan to discuss the state’s annual plan when they were heckled in a protest against the death of an SFI member in Kolkata Police’s custody. Mamata had alleged that the protesters tried to hit her with an iron rod.<br /><br />Mitra was pushed around while trying to enter the building, and a woman thumped him twice on his chest. His kurta was also torn in the melee. The 65-year-old was later put under medical observation at AIIMS. <br /><br />Following the incident, Mamata called off her meetings with the Prime Minister and Union finance minister P Chidambaram and returned to Kolkata.<br />Last week, SFI had apologised for the attack. Ritabrata insisted that he was not directly involved in the assault.</p>
