A day after Bengali actor-turned-politician Tapas Pal passed away in Mumbai due to cardiac arrest, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday, 19 February, alleged that he died “due to pressure created by central agencies and the politics of vendetta pursued by the Union government.”
“The central government's pressure has claimed so many lives. Three people died due to this pressure by the agencies. Sultan Ahmed (former Trinamool Congress MP), TMC MP Prasun Banerjee’s wife passed away, and now Tapas Pal,” she was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.
Pal was formerly an MP of the Trinamool Congress.
“People are being jailed but central agencies have not been able to prove their involvement or conclude what crime they committed. If someone commits a crime, they must face action. But we still don’t know what crime did Tapas Pal and others commit,” Banerjee added.
Pal had gone to Mumbai to visit his daughter, when he complained of chest pain at the airport during his return to Kolkata and was rushed to a hospital in Juhu. He was declared dead around 4 am on Tuesday.
He had been suffering from heart ailments and been to hospitals several times for treatment during the past two years.
Pal was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Kolkata on 30 December 2016 in connection with the multi-crore rupees Rose Valley Chit Fund scam, and had been taken to Bhubaneswar for further questioning.
He is survived by his wife Nandini Paul, who was a former participant of ‘Bigg Boss Bangla’, and daughter Shohini who is also an actor.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)