Days after a petition was filed with the Union Home Ministry against Tamal Bhattacharya, who was evacuated from Afghanistan, for praising the Taliban, a picture of him posing with the jihadists has now surfaced on social media.
The contentious image was shared by the petitioner Raj Chowdhury. In a tweet on Friday, he informed that the matter has been raised with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. “I had also filed one written grievance to Ministry of IT, Electronics against Tamal Bhattacharya who can be seen with Talibani Terrorists with gun AK47 and he is posing proudly with the terrorists. The Ministry of IT and Electronics has accepted this plea too for consideration,” Chowdhury tweeted.
I had also filed one written grievance to Ministry of IT,Electronics against Tamal Bhattacharya who can be seen with Talibani Terrorists with gun AK47 and he is posing proudly with the terrorists. The Ministry of IT and Electronics has accepted this plea too for consideration. pic.twitter.com/aeM8e9ry6Y
— Raj Chowdhury (@swaraj4youth) August 27, 2021
In the picture, Tamal Bhattacharya could be seen smiling as he stared at the camera with presumably Talibs brandishing assault rifles. While speaking to OpIndia, Raj Chowdhury informed that his earlier petition has been accepted by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. He added that Tamal Bhattacharya has been caught off guard after OpIndia exposed his fascination for the radical Islamist outfit. Without revealing his sources, Chowdhury alleged that Tamal has plans to flee India within a week’s time and move to Bahrain. He has called for immediate intervention by law enforcement authorities.
The story of Tamal Bhattacharya: From pleading for help to praising Taliban
Tamal, a 34-year-old resident of Nimta in the North Dum Dum area, was stranded in Afghanistan ever since the Taliban took control of the country. He had been working as a physics and chemistry teacher at an army school (Kardan International school) in Kabul since March this year. A mechanical engineer by training, Tamal was living in the staff quarters of his school. However, after the Taliban took over the city of Kabul, he was forced to lock himself up inside the principal’s residence.
He alleged to have contacted the Indian embassy and couldn’t reach the Hamid Karzai International airport despite several attempts. Later, he claimed to have reached the airport gate at 11 pm on Friday, only to be returned by the US security forces due to the absence of government officials and documents. He added that Talibs were surrounding the airport and had to spend the night in a nearby wedding hall. While speaking to Anandabazaar Patrika, he said, “Please inform PM Modi and Amit Shah so that immediate action is taken for our evacuation”
Eventually, Tamal was evacuated by an Indian Air Force (IAF) carrier along with 10 other Bengali residents. He boarded the flight late on Saturday night and reached the National capital on Sunday morning. On the same day, he returned to Kolkata via a flight from New Delhi. Tamal, who was successfully rescued by the Indian government from his perilous state, heaped praise upon the Taliban after reaching home.
As per a report in ABP News, Tamal Bhattacharya claimed that the Taliban has not only treated him well but also fed him good food. “They (Talibs) also played cricket with us,” he claimed. Tamal later hailed the radical Islamist outfit for being ‘trustworthy’. This is despite the fact that he had earlier pleaded with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to evacuate him immediately from Taliban-controlled Kabul. Tamal’s contentious claims found overwhelming support among the radical Islamists, who were seeking opportunities to whitewash the atrocities committed by the Talibs.
