Newly inducted BJP leader gets death threats, says lodging police complaint of no use

Former TMC MLA from Shantipur Arindam Bhattacharya, who recently switched over tothe BJP, received death threats on Friday morning, with miscreants asking him to immediately leave the constituency inBengal's Nadia district, a police officer said.

The threats, written in Bengali on walls in two places-- one in Shantipur's Bagdebi area and another in Bagachra --were first noticed by local BJP party workers.

''Leave Shantipur in the next seven days or else youwill be solely responsible for your murder,'' the threats read.

Bhattacharya, who gets 'Y category' security afterjoining the BJP, said ''such threats are not new to him''.

''I have not lodged any complaint with the police. Thisis not new to me. I have been receiving death threats since Ijoined the BJP. Earlier, I was also attacked... Lodgingcomplaints with the police do not help. I have informed myseniors in the party,'' Bhattacharya told PTI when contacted.

Alleging that TMC leaders had been trying tointimidate him, Bhattacharya, who resides in the city andvisits the constituency from time to time, said, ''This is aploy to scare me. I will not give in and fight from Shantipuragain. This shows lawlessness has increased in the state.'' Local police, meanwhile, whitewashed the threatswritten on the walls.

''We have not received any complaint in this context.

But our officers have wiped off the threats written on thewalls. We are speaking to locals to find out who all areinvolved in the matter,'' a senior officer of Shantipur PoliceStation said.

The former legislator, who was elected in 2016 on congress ticket, had crossed over to the TMC within a year.

This January, he joined the BJP, claiming that he was not being able to work freely as a member of the ruling camp.