Kolkata: Police on Sunday arrested the owner of a school in East Midnapore district for allegedly harassing popular Bengali singer Lagnajita Chakraborty during a performance, officials said.
Acting Superintendent of Police Mitun Kumar Dey also ordered a departmental inquiry against Shahanshah Haque, the officer-in-charge of Bhagwanpur police station, in connection with the incident. An officer at the SDPO level has been assigned to investigate the matter.
The incident occurred on Saturday when Lagnajita performed at an event hosted by South Point Public School in the Bhagwanpur police station area. The singer alleged that she was harassed while singing the song ‘Jago Ma’ from the film Devi Chaudhurani. According to her, a man from the audience rushed onto the stage and attempted to assault her, but others intervened and removed him before the situation escalated. She did not continue singing after the incident.
Lagnajita claimed that the school owner, Mehboob Mallick, verbally abused her and behaved rudely after she refused to perform further. Within 24 hours of the incident, police arrested Mallick, a resident of Beludia village in the Bhagwanpur area, based on her complaint.
Following the incident, Lagnajita approached the Bhagwanpur police station and recounted the events to the officer-in-charge. She was asked to file a general diary entry, which she did. Questions have been raised about why an FIR was not immediately filed after such an incident.
Acting SP Mitun Kumar Dey assured that all allegations would be thoroughly investigated. “We also want to ensure that such incidents do not happen again,” he said.
The district police have ordered a departmental inquiry against the officer-in-charge of Bhagwanpur police station in connection with the case.
With IANS inputs