Kolkata, July 20 : West Bengal Food Minister Jyotipriyo Mullick on Wednesday alleged that a car tried to run him down at Salt Lake and suspected cow smugglers behind the incident.
"I was walking around the nearby park at my home on (last) Friday morning. Suddenly, I noticed an old green colour Tata Sumo car coming towards me at a very high speed. I feel the car tried to run me down. I jumped on the adjacent footpath," Mullick said.
"I feel the strict action which is taken by the state government against the cow smugglers can be a major factor. In an attempt to scare me, cow smugglers might have done it," he said.
He added the people involved in the incident may have been following him earlier and might have also stayed in the area overnight.
"The state has taken stringent action against cow smugglers operating at the India-Bangladesh border and I am helping the government," Mullick said.
"I will ensure that cow smuggling at the border, particularly in my district (North 24 Parganas), will not continue," he said.
The Bidhanagar police is investigating the case.
"The police is investigatng the case. Mullick has been efficiently working and may be some unsocial elements could be involved in the case," said Trinamool Congress Vice President Mukul Roy.
