Trinamool Congress supremo and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faced a violent protest in Kanchrapara, North 24 Parganas, on Sunday, 9 August, when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers and supporters surrounded her convoy as she went to meet the family of a Trinamool Congress worker who allegedly died in police custody. Demonstrators hurled mud and a torn slipper at her vehicle and shouted slogans branding her a 'thief'.

What Happened at Kanchrapara

Mamata Banerjee had travelled to Kanchrapara to visit the family of Birju Keot, a Trinamool Congress worker whose death in police custody was alleged by his family on Saturday, 8 August. As her motorcade passed through the roads of Bijpur in the same district, protesters closed in on her car, forcing police to form a cordon around the vehicle.

Speaking to reporters after the incident, Banerjee said, 'Large stones were hurled at my car by anti-social elements, right in front of the police. The attack on the vehicle was so severe that if the windows had been open, my head would have been split open. We could have all been killed. This happened right in front of the police. I have never seen anything like this. What is going on? The police are providing protection to the BJP.'

The Custody Death That Triggered the Visit

Birju Keot's wife, Jenny Sharma Keot, former Trinamool councillor of Ward 23 of Kanchrapara Municipality, alleged that her husband was beaten while in custody, with his hands and feet tied, after being taken to Halishahar police station. According to a police source, Birju was found lying ill in the jail after midnight on Friday and was rushed to Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Kalyani, Nadia district, where doctors declared him dead.

Initial speculation points to a possible heart attack, but the exact cause of death remains unconfirmed pending an autopsy report. There were no visible injury marks confirmed, and police have not issued an official statement on the circumstances of his death.

Competing Claims and Political Blame

The BJP alleged that Banerjee had arrived in Kanchrapara to incite unrest, and that the protests were a spontaneous expression of public anger against her. The party denied orchestrating the confrontation.

Banerjee, however, directly targeted Police Minister Suvendu Adhikari — who also serves as Chief Minister of West Bengal under the current BJP-led state government — accusing him of deploying 'goons' to stage the attack. 'Forget about security; the police are protecting lumpens! Bengal has fallen into the hands of lumpens. We will file a case,' she said.

Trinamool Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee and Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen, who accompanied the former Chief Minister, also condemned the BJP administration. Kalyan Banerjee alleged that 'Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is running his rule through the police and getting work done by the mafia.'

Mamata's Assessment of Law and Order

After meeting the Keot family, Banerjee remarked, 'There is no such thing as law and order left in this state.' The comment encapsulates the broader political battle over governance and accountability that has intensified since the BJP came to power in West Bengal. This is not the first time a political visit to a victim's family has turned confrontational in the state — such incidents have become a recurring feature of Bengal's charged political landscape.

The autopsy report on Birju Keot is expected to clarify the cause of death and will likely shape the next phase of political and legal action by both sides.