Former cricketer and BJP candidate from West Bengal's Moyna, Ashok Dinda's car was allegedly attacked by unidentified people on Tuesday. Hours later, he was granted Y+ security, to be provided by the CRPF. The well known sportsperson will be contesting against TMC's Sangram Kumar Dolui and Congress' Manik Bhownik from the Moyna constituency. Polling for the Moyna Assembly constituency will be held on April 1 in the second phase.
Dinda was returning after the poll campaign when a mob surrounded his car near Moyna Bazaar and hurdled stones. The glass of his car windows was broken and he suffered injuries on his shoulder. The BJP has accused Trinamool Congress (TMC) of the attack.
According to his manager, the incident took place at around 4.30 pm. The SUV was allegedly attacked by hundreds of goons, wielding lathi and rods and hurling stones. His manager said that Dinda had been injured on his shoulder.
"The incident happened right in front of Moyna Bazar when we were returning from a roadshow. There was one local TMC goon, Shahjahan Ali, who along with others, numbering more than a hundred, attacked with lathi, rods and bricks," the manager had told PTI.
At the end of February this year, Dinda had joined the BJP even as his former teammate Manoj Tiwary joined the TMC. He was formally inducted in the presence of Union Minister Babul Supriyo and BJP state vice president Arjun Singh at an event in Kolkata.
Before joining the BJP, Dinda had announced his retirement from all formats of the game. The pacer represented India in 13 ODIs and nine T20Is, picking 12 and 17 wickets respectively.
(With inputs from agencies)
