Renowned singer Lagnajita Chakraborty from West Bengal alleged that she was verbally abused and physically harassed while performing a devotional song at a private function on Saturday.
Lagnajita Chakraborty told news agency ANI that a man approached her with the intention of hitting her after she sang the devotional song ‘Jago Maa’ from the film ‘Devi Chowdhurani’.
She identified the man as Mahboob Mallick, who wanted her to sing “something secular”.
Lagnajita Chakraborty explains what exactly happened
Speaking to news agency ANI, Chakraborty said that she was performing at the school when the incident occurred: “I started my show around 7:00 pm and it went smoothly. By 7:45 pm I had finished singing seven songs and was going to start my eighth set…”
She said the seventh song she sang was ‘Jago Maa’ from the movie ‘Devi Choudhurani’ which was released during this Pujo.
“When I was interacting with the audience after this song, I suddenly saw a man in the audience rushing towards the stage…,” she said.
She claimed the man “came very close to my face. The school where I was performing filmed the whole concert, which is very normal, as any promoter does. But I don’t have access to that video because it belongs to the school.”
“If anyone has access to the video, if it goes public, then everyone will see that Mahboob Mallick rushed towards the stage with the intention of hitting me,” she claimed.
“He simply wanted to beat me up… As people rushed to save me and dragged him away, he shouted, ‘Enough Jago Maa, now sing something secular,'” said Lagnajita Chakraborty.
She further claimed that the man addressed her and called her “here”. She said, “Bangla is a beautiful language with many words that can be used to describe a person, but he called me ‘tu’, which I’m not okay with.”
“That’s not part of our culture. We don’t do that to a stranger or a guest. It’s used for the very near and dear or it’s abuse…,” she said.
Chakraborty said that after the incident, she went to Bhagwanpur police station and lodged a GD. “I have full confidence in my police and administration and know that such an incident will not happen again…,” she said.
“I have another show in Arambagh area in the coming days and I will be singing ‘Jago Maa’ as my 7th number. I know the police and the administration will ensure that I sing Jago Maa and I don’t get beaten up for it and I will come home safe and sound…,” the playback singer said.
The police intervene
Purba Medinipur police arrested the alleged accused after actress Lagnajita Chakraborty was allegedly harassed during her performance at an event in Bengal.
SP of Purba Medinipur, Mithun De, told ANI, “This is an unfortunate incident. The moment we came to know about it, we immediately decided to arrest him. We were conducting raids as he was absconding.”
“We have arrested him today and will produce him in court tomorrow. We will demand his custody so that we can carry out further investigations. We are also in touch with the singer,” the police said.
The case is currently under investigation.
Was the accused a TMC worker?
The incident drew sharp political reactions, with BJP leader Shankudeb Panda saying Mallik was an active TMC worker, news agency PTI reported.
CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty also condemned the act and blamed the state government for such a situation.
Trinamool Congress spokesperson Aroop Chakraborty called the incident “reprehensible” and argued that it would be wrong to link the TMC for every incident.
