‘No excuses, arrest culprits’, Mamata Banerjee orders Birbhum police. TMC leader held

Birbhum violence: Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee ordered arrest of TMC block leader, who she said, did not send people when he received requests to shield the people killed in the violence.

KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday reached out to the victims of Birbhum violence, ordered the police to arrest the accused including a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) who didn’t act to prevent the horrific killing of eight people and told the state police chief to launch a state-wide drive to seize all illegal firearms.

Birbhum violence: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee speaks with relatives of people who lost their lives in the attack at Bogtui village, Rampurhat, Birbhum district, on Thursday. (CMO photo)

Banerjee, who holds the portfolio of the home ministry, also told the police to take strict action against its supervisory officers in the area.

“I never thought that such a gruesome incident could take place. On the one hand, war is going on, and here violence is going on because of some people. I don’t want any excuses. Arrest all the accused. Build the case in such a manner that no one dares to commit such a crime and it becomes a lesson for others,” Banerjee said reaching out to families of people in Bogtui village in the Rampurhat area of Bengal’s Birbhum district who bore the brunt of the attack.

At least eight people, including two children, were charred to death when their houses were set on fire at Bogtui village on Monday night. The attack took place hours after Bhadu Sheikh, the deputy head of the local Trinamool Congress (TMC)-controlled Barshal gram panchayat was killed in a bomb attack, and has led to sharp criticism of the Bengal government from opposition parties. On Thursday, the Calcutta high court also took cognisance of the violence and has reserved its order after holding a hearing.

During her visit to the district, Mamata Banerjee also announced ₹2 lakh for families which lost their houses. “Each family (of victims” will get a compensation of ₹5 lakh. One member of each family will be given a government job from the chief minister’s quota. Those with burn injures will get ₹50,000 each,” she said after meeting the family members at Bogtui village.

The inspector in charge of Rampurhat police station Trideep Pramanik was suspended. Police also arrested Anarul Hossain, TMC president of Rapurhat-1 block, on the chief minister’s orders.

Bannerjee explained: “The families had alerted Hossain. He, however, didn’t send the police. He should be arrested. The incident could have been averted had he sent the police and a police picket was set up in the area. After the murder of Sheikh, the SDPO (sub-divisional police officer) should have taken precautions to prevent a further flare-up. The SDPO and the in-charge of the local police station didn’t perform their duties. The same goes with the district intelligence branch. I want stringent action against those who didn’t perform their duties,” the chief minister said.

Chief minister Banerjee, who also visited the hospital to check on the four survivors, said there is a larger conspiracy behind this case. “Police will probe all angles to find out whether only locals were involved or outsiders had come. There will be an impartial investigation and stringent actions would be taken,” she promised.

“The state government will bear the cost of the treatment of the victims. I wanted to take one of the victims, who is admitted to the hospital with 60% burn injuries, to Kolkata. But doctors advised me that her condition may deteriorate if she is shifted. We will send an expert team to Rampurhat so that she gets proper treatment,” Banerjee said.

The Bengal Police also installed over 30 CCTV cameras in the area where right people were charred to death, the high court was informed during its hearing. The government also told the court that the autopsy has been concluded in all except one case and video recording of all other post mortem examinations has been done. A team of experts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory is expected to visit the village on Friday following court orders.