West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today ruled out the arrest or harassment of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjeee before the upcoming Assembly elections in connection with a 17-year-old case. "There is no question of arresting or harassing Mamata Banerjee before the Assembly elections," Bhattacharjee told a press conference here. The CPI-M had yesterday asked the Election Commission to execute all non-bailable warrants,including those issued in connection with violent incidents at Barasat in 1994 in which the police had registered FIRs against Mamata,among others. In a memorandum to Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi,who led a team on a two-day review of poll preparedness in the state,the CPI-M referred to the 17-year-old incident at Kacharimore in Barasat in which the police had carried out a lathicharge. Then DIG (PR) Rachpal Singh was injured in the violence. "The police had then registered an FIR against Mamata Banerjee," the CPI-M memorandum had said while referring to the incident in North 24 Parganas district. Rachpal Singh,now a retired IPS officer,incidentally is now a Trinamool Congress candidate from Tarakeswar seat. Reacting to the CPI-M memorandum,Trinamool Congress general secretary Mukul Roy had yesterday wondered as to what had prevented the police from taking any action in the last 17 years.
