Slapping Mamata's nephew: Fury over 'shameless' attempted murder charge

Debashish Acharya, the man who slapped Trinamool MP and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee at a public rally on Sunday has been charged with attempt to murder even while he lies in hospital in a ‘critical condition’ after being brutally beaten up by outraged TMC workers. Acharya has also been charged with criminal trespass, voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy. On the other hand, the TMC workers who beat up the 25-year-old so much that he has deep wounds in his head, and is slipping in and out of consciousness, have been charged with an attempt to commit culpable homicide not amounting to murder, reports NDTV. [caption id=“attachment_2031781” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Acharya (left) has been charged with attempt to murder.[/caption] So while Acharya, may be put behind bars for up to 10 years, for a slap that could have apparently killed someone, the charge reserved for 25-30 “unknown” people who beat the youth to a pulp entails a maximum punishment of three years in jail. There have been no arrests in this case yet and the ‘unknown’ label means it is highly possible that anyone will be arrested at all. An IPS officer slammed the police over the incident. “They can lodge an attempt to murder case against a man for slapping an MP but when the same man is beaten up mercilessly, they do not invoke the section,” the officer was quoted by The Telegraph as saying. Meanwhile, the victim of the assault, Abhishek Banerjee, took to Facebook to say he has forgiven the perpetrator and ‘wished him early recovery.’ He also asked workers to maintain peace. However, Banerjee did not condemn the manner in which his supporters thrashed the assaulter.

Post by Abhishek Banerjee.

The Facebook post has generated a slew of comments, some which support the TMC leader. However many of them called the TMC ‘shameless’ and said that the murder charge on the youth was not justified. “Thanks for the thought…..but " murder charges “…for this incidence & latter on justifying the outrage of TMC workers by TMC leaders is quite shameless. This is not " maintaining peace, harmony & restrained action” Mr. Abhishek Banerje,” read one of the comments. “The police booked that chap under 307 (attempt to Murder) while your partymen were booked under 308 (attempt to homicide). World of difference between the two. Given the thrashing your party goons gave him, it’s them who should have been booked under 307. Despite showing rowdyism & yet roaming free, you have the gumption & audacity to think & say that you “forgive” that guy? What do you think you are, Mahatma Gandhi? Sickening. Absolutely sickening,” another commentator said. However, Senior TMC leader and minister Subrata Mukherjee justified what the workers did by saying what happened to Acharya was ‘insignificant’. “After Indira Gandhi was assassinated, many people were killed in retaliation. Nothing of that sort has happened here. If one of your colleagues (newspersons) were attacked, will you recite poetry?,” he was quoted as saying by The Telegraph. The youth, wearing a cap, mounted the stage from where Banerjee, an MP, was addressing the gathering. On the pretext of clicking photos on his cellphone, the man suddenly lunged towards Banerjee and slapped him, catching him off-guard, police officials said. Acharya is a 25-year-old engineering student at a college in Durgapur. His family has claimed he has a mental condition. Debasish’s father told Telgraph that he had not heard from his son since Diwali and blamed ‘bad company’ for his behaviour. “He is good in studies but has a whimsical nature. When he came home during Diwali, he told us that he wanted to leave studies and go to Haridwar. He left home soon after and since then we have not heard from him,” he was quoted as saying. While being taken to hospital after being thrashed by TMC workers yesterday, he is believed to have said. “I am khudiram’s spirit. I will be reborn. Goodbye Indians.” The Kolkata police had said that Acharya had links with the RSS. According to NDTV reports, in his videographed police interrogation, Acharya has told the police that he was attracted to “religious spiritualism”. Meanwhile, two persons, who were reportedly seen with Acharya at the meeting at Chandipur before he assaulted Banerjee, were detained for interrogation today, a top district police officer said. They were identified as Tamal and Pallab from Tamluk and Contai respectively, the officer said. A third person, who was also accompanying the three at the meeting, as stated by eyewitnesses, was also picked up for questioning, but later allowed to leave.