Five arrested for attack on Abhishek, Mamata says police pressurised hospitals not to admit him

The West Bengal Police on Sunday (May 31, 2026) have arrested five persons in connection with the attack on Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee. According to police, the arrests come after a suo motu FIR was registered by Sonarpur Police Station as no formal complaint has been registered by the Trinamool leader. A few others have been detained in connection with the attack. These arrests and detentions have come after examining the footage of the attack on the MP.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee has alleged that the hospitals were pressurized by police not to admit her nephew. After a mob attacked him at Sonarpur, the Trinamool Congress general secretary was taken to two private hospitals in Kolkata and both the institutions refused admission to him on grounds that the injuries were not serious in nature.

“The most disturbing aspect of today’s developments is the allegation that pressure was exerted on doctors and hospital authorities regarding the treatment of an injured patient. Doctors recommended tests, scans, and observation based on medical necessity. Decisions regarding admission, discharge, and treatment should be made solely by medical professionals and not by any political authority,” the former Chief Minister told media persons on Saturday (May 30, 2026) night.

Ms. Banerjee added that it was “not normal for a patient who has suffered injuries and undergone medical evaluation to face uncertainty regarding treatment and hospitalisation”.

In some videos shared on social media, Ms. Banerjee can be heard speaking to the CEO of a private hospital in an angry tone. The Trinamool Congress chairperson said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi offered that Abhishek Banerjee can be treated at a hospital in Hyderabad.

The Trinamool Congress chairperson that when she was in power, she never allowed political opponents to be physically targeted in this manner.

“Differences existed, political battles existed, but some limits were respected. Ultimately, the people will answer. Today’s events are not the final chapter. Governments come and go, but democratic values must remain intact,” Ms. Banerjee said.

Since May 4, 2026 when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in West Bengal, there has been instances of local and ward level leaders of Trinamool Congress being assaulted by the public. The attack on the Trinamool general secretary came when he was visiting the residence of Trinamool Congress worker Sanju Pramanik, killed allegedly in post poll violence. Both Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee have held the BJP responsible for the attack.

The BJP leaders have described the attack as a reflection of public anger towards Trinamool Congress leaders

“What happened to Abhishek Banerjee should not have happened. No one has the right to take the law into their own hands,” BJP leader and West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh told reporters. However, he said people in West Bengal had endured “harassment” under the TMC government over the past 15 years, adding that “the anger inside the public has to show up somewhere”.