New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was injured when the helicopter in which she was flying made an emergency landing at the Sevoke air base near Siliguri in the northern part of the state due to bad weather on Tuesday afternoon, officials said. Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress supremo, was found to have suffered ligament injuries in the left knee and left hip joint, a senior doctor at state-run SSKM Hospital in Kolkata said.
Earlier, the pilot decided to make an emergency landing after the helicopter started “shaking terribly” when it ran into bad weather on the way to Bagdogra airport. Banerjee was injured when she tried to deboard the chopper at the air base. She later returned to Kolkata by a flight from Bagdogra Airport.
The chief minister, soon after reaching the city, was taken to the state-run SSKM Hospital where an MRI was conducted on her, the official said. “Doctors examined her and found a few ligament injuries on her left knee and hip joint. She was treated for these injuries. The chief minister has been advised hospitalisation but she preferred treatment staying at home,” the doctor said.
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Banerjee left the hospital at around 9 PM. The incident occurred when she was returning to Kolkata after a two-day trip to northern districts of the state to campaign for the July 8 panchayat elections.
Earlier, Banerjee was injured in March 2021 ahead of the assembly election. The TMC supremo, who was a candidate from Nandigram, had alleged that she was attacked by “four-five men” who pushed her during the election campaign in that constituency following which she was injured in the left leg. She later continued campaigning from a wheelchair.
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Sources said that Governor CV Ananda Bose telephoned Banerjee and enquired about her health condition. “Several specialist doctors examined the chief minister in the hospital. A team of doctors will be visiting her residence on Wednesday morning for another round of check-ups,” the official said.
A Defence official later said that Banerjee along with three other passengers on board, made a precautionary landing at Sevoke Road Army aviation base at 1.35 pm due to bad weather. Officials at the base escorted Banerjee to the waiting area, where she interacted with the Army personnel.
Banerjee waited there till 2.23 pm when she commenced her onward journey to Bagdogra airport near Siliguri by road, the Defence official said