RBI Chief Urjit Patel ‘Manhandled’ by Congress Workers at Kolkata Airport

Kolkata: RBI governor Urjit Patel was allegedly pushed and shoved around by a group of Congress workers who were protesting against demonetisation outside the Kolkata airport on Thursday evening.

Patel was leaving the city after attending an RBI board meet at the apex bank’s regional headquarters and after meeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Nabanna, the secretariat building.

Patel was without his security cover when he disembarked from his car at the departure terminal of the airport where a group of Congress workers were waiting to protest against demonetisation.

According to witnesses, the protestors began shouting slogans and waved black flags at Patel the moment he started walking towards the entry gate.

He was then quickly surrounded by the protestors who pushed and shoved him around with just a couple of RBI officials trying to protect him.

It wasn’t until the onduty CISF personnel at the airport gates jumped into action that a visibly disconcerted Patel was safely escorted to the airport lounge.

Earlier, Patel’s car had reportedly left the security convoy at the parking ticket gates of the airport and moved out.

The police escort vehicles were, by then, already on a narrow one-way ramp that leads directly to the departure terminal.

Unable to turn around, the escort vehicles failed to keep the necessary proximity with Patel’s car which had already headed for the departure gates through a different route, witnesses said.

The protestors seized the opportunity to get dangerously close to their ‘target’ and managed to gherao Patel for a few minutes before he could be rescued and escorted inside.

At the time of filing this report, no arrests had been made and no official condemnation of the incident was registered by the West Bengal government.