Kolkata, May 28 (IANS): A fresh controversy has erupted in West Bengal after an assistant teacher of the government school, who is leading face of the Kurmi movement, was transferred hours after attack on the convoy of Trinamool Congress' national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

Kurmi leader Rajesh Mahato, who is an assistant teacher with Banapur High School in his native district of West Midnapore, on Saturday received transfer letter from the West Bengal School Education Department that was issued on Friday, the same day when the attack on convoy occurred.

What had caught the attention of many was that he had been transferred to Chamta Adarsha High School, which is over 700 kms from Mahato's native district. In the notification, he has been asked to join his new assignment with immediate effect.

The people from the Kurmi Community have been protesting for quite some time demanding Scheduled Tribe status.

Describing the attack as a "vindictive transfer", the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari had claimed that Mahato had been "vengefully and arbitrarily" transferred to Cooch Behar.

"This autocratic decision has been taken without adhering to any norms. I strongly condemn this transfer, which is nothing but an act of suppression, committed by the West Bengal government. I request the democracy loving people of the state to kindly raise their voice against such a vicious and wicked act, which is being committed with the sole intention of silencing democratic voices," he said.

On Saturday, while addressing a rally at Salboni in West Midnapore district, where the attack on Abhishek Banerjee's convoy took place, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that BJP was trying to create caste-violence in the state by instigating the Kurmis against the other tribal communities.

"The BJP was trying to create a Manipur-like situation in West Bengal, so that the NDA-led Union government can have a chance to deploy Army in West Bengal," she alleged.