Trinamool Congress's actor-MLA slaps Kolkata eatery owner over parking issue

Bengali actor and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Soham Chakraborty slapped a restaurant owner in Kolkata following a heated argument over a parking issue between the staff members of the hotel and the actor. Chakraborty counter-claimed that he slapped the owner, Anisur Alam, after he allegedly abused the party's general secretary Abhishek Banerjee during the argument.

Alam, the owner of Kolkata Delight, located in the Newtown area, said he had allowed Chakraborty to shoot above his restaurant without charging him. He alleged he was punched and kicked by the actor after he objected to his security staff's cars being parked in the parking area, saying they were inconveniencing customers.

"I had allowed him to shoot above my restaurant and I didn't ask any money for it. His security parked their cars in the parking area. My staff told them to remove them as other customers were not able to park their vehicles," Alam said.

"His (Soham's) security told me that he's an MLA and a close friend of Abhishek Banerjee. I said that, 'I don't care if he is Narendra Modi's friend or Abhishek's'. Suddenly, Soham came and punched me in my face and kicked me," he alleged.

On the other hand, Chakraborty alleged that the restaurant owner was abusing his staff and Abhishek Banerjee. He admitted to slapping Alam.

"I came down rushing after I heard a scuffle downstairs. I saw that the owner was abusing my staff. He abused me and Abhishek Banerjee. I lost my cool and slapped him," the actor said.

CCTV footage of the restaurant captured Chakraborty arguing with Alam. He was seen grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. However, the slap was not captured in the clip.

Kolkata Delight manager Dipankar Ghosh said the restaurant had not filed a police complaint yet.

"The actor is an MLA. He's influential. We didn't charge anything from him for his shooting. Soham assaulted our owner after we told him to remove the extra cars parked in the parking area. His security beat us up. We have not filed a complaint with the police yet," Ghosh said.