TMC leader and veteran Bengali actor Tapas Pal, who had once threatened to send TMC goons to rape CPM women, passed away earlier today. He had threatened to get CPM workers killed and have their women raped if any of the single TMC worker was attacked.
Tapas Pal had been a Member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from the Alipore constituency. He also contested successfully on a TMC ticket in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. In 2016, Pal was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for his alleged involvement in the Rose Valley Chit-fund scam. The Ponzi scam had collected over ₹10,000 crores as deposits from people in West Bengal, Tripura and Odisha. Singer-turned-politician Babul Supriyo also threatened to file a defamation case against Pal after the latter dragged the former’s name in the scam.
Tapas Pal was granted bail after 13 months in imprisonment. Following his release, he retired from active politics and refused to contest elections. The legendary actor breathed his last in Mumbai at the age of 61 around 4 am at a hospital in Juhu, Mumbai after he complained of chest pain. He had gone to visit his daughter.
Born on September 19, 1958, in Chandanagar, West Bengal, Tapas Pal rose to fame as a prominent Bengali actor in the 1980s. Pal graduated from the Hooghly Mohsin College, University of Burdwan with a degree in bio-science. Soon after, he acted in several blockbuster movies such as Bhalobasa Bhalobasa (1985), Arpan (1987), Surer Sathi (1988) and Chokher Aloy (1989).
He made his Bollywood debut in Hiren Nag’s film “Abodh” in 1984. In his 3-decade long movie career, Tapas Pal acted alongside some of the greatest names in the Bengali film industry such as Prosenjit Chatterjee, Soumitra Chatterjee, Ranjit Mallick. On the film front, Pal was last seen in the 2013 movie, Khiladi.
The veteran actor had earned a name for himself among the Bengali populace for being the “good guy” who avenged the evil in the society and rendered justice. Therefore, it took people by surprise when the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) member threatened to send men to rape women associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Pal had been suffering from heart ailments for the past 2 years. Condolences poured in from all sides, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Tapas Pal is now survived by his wife Nandini Paul and daughter Sohini.
