Written by Atri MitraKolkata | September 14, 2025 05:30 AM IST 3 min readSarkar, who is also a TMC worker, alleged that the local Ujjwal Sangha club had initially demanded Rs 4,000 for his two shops (Archive)A businessman was brutally beaten and injured allegedly by TMC miscreants for refusing to pay a Rs 10,000 donation for Durga Puja, demanded by a local club on the Gobra Gorosthan Road on Friday, the police said.His family members, including his father, wife, and brother, who tried to intervene, were also heckled and beaten. According to the police, the club is allegedly dominated by TMC members.The victim, identified as Amit Sarkar, has filed a police complaint at the Tapsia station in Kolkata.Sarkar, who is also a TMC worker, alleged that the local Ujjwal Sangha club had initially demanded Rs 4,000 for his two shops.“Suddenly, they increased the amount to Rs 10,000. When they came to my house, they first started talking slang to my brother. When I went there, there was a heated conversation. Suddenly some of them started beating me. When my wife, father, wife and brother tried to stop them, they were also heckled and beaten. We were beaten by bamboo, iron rod etc,” he said.“Those who came, all are involved with local TMC. I was also involved with this club from 2012 to 2025. I was club secretary as well as Durga puja committee secretary. But, I quit the club in 2024. However, I am involved with TMC till date,” Sarkar added.TMC sources said, after this incident, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was also informed and she asked police to take stern action against those culprits.Story continues below this adA senior police officer confirmed that an investigation has been launched after Sarkar’s complaint. “They filed a complaint at Tapsia police station. Meanwhile, the chief minister somehow came to know about this incident and asked police to take stern action against it.”Condemning the incident, BJP leader Sajal Ghosh said, “TMC is now a party of criminals. They are always involved in extortion or corruption. And these miscreants are not afraid of anybody because they know police can’t take any action against them.”Meanwhile, TMC leader Debangshu Bhattacharya expressed regret over the incident and urged the police to take strict action. “Its very unfortunate incident. To avoid such incident, our Chief Minister started allowance for puja committees. So, such an incident is not acceptable and police should take stern action against this,” he said.Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:durga pujaKolkata Police