TMC leader poses with gun inside government office in purported picture, pulls the trigger

A purported picture of a TMC leader posing with a gun at a government office in West Bengal’s Malda district went viral on social media, triggering a political uproar on Tuesday. In the purported picture, Mrinalini Mandal Maiti, president of the old Malda Panchayat Samiti, was seen posing with a gun in one hand while sitting in her official chair. Maiti is also the district unit president of TMC women’s wing.

Hitting out at the Trinamool Congress, the BJP alleged that the ruling party has turned the state into an explosives dump yard. BJP district president Gobind Chandra Mandal said, “If he is searched, the police will also get bombs and rifles. This is the TMC’s culture. The police are not doing anything because of the fear of losing their jobs.”

The TMC, however, said that the police would investigate the matter. “One cannot play with a gun while sitting on the official chair. Police will investigate whether it is a real gun or a toy pistol. But, from what I can gather from the photo, it is a real gun. The image of the party has been tarnished by this.” Because of the kind of incident,” TMC state general secretary Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury said.