A drone was spotted near West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's helicopter while she was leaving for Gazole from Malda's Malatipur after participating in an election rally. The incident triggered a major security alert, with the police now launching a probe and arresting three people in this connection.
A video has also gone viral in which the drone could be seen flying near Banerjee's helicopter while she tries to board it. In the background, people could be heard saying "arey, eta ki... mic taa bondo koro (what is this, man? Close the mic)".
As per the sources, the three arrested persons are associated with the TMC. They were from TMC candidate Motiur Rahman's team and were flying the drone to watch the crowd that had gathered. They are being questioned by the police now.
Talking about Banerjee's Malda visit, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) was there for an election campaign. During her visit, she also addressed a poll rally in which she attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the SIR drive in West Bengal. She said the BJP must seek forgiveness from people whose names were deleted from electoral list.
She also spoke about the recent violence and gherao of judicial officers in Malda, and alleged that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is harassing innocent people by picking them. She urged the public to give a befitting reply to the BJP in the upcoming elections.
"There is no need to hold political rallies and meetings of our party. My priority is to extend help to these people to apply before tribunals to include the names wrongly deleted from the electoral rolls," the chief minister, who is seeking a fourth straight term, said.
"Do not fall for any provocation. The BJP wants to stoke violence and then use central agencies to pick up people as they did in Mothabari," she added.
Assembly elections will be held in West Bengal in two phases on April 23 and 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 4.
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