Urban development minister Bobby Hakim has blamed former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for the police firing on July 21, 1993, that killed 13 Youth Congress workers, when he deposed before the probe commission on Tuesday.
Hakim was secretary of the Youth Congress during that time and Bhattacharjee the home minister. Hakim claimed that Youth Congress workers were protesting peacefully at Mayo Road on the fateful day when police resorted to lathi-charge, teargas and firing without any provocation.
“Not only the police, but the then home minister and ruling party leaders had a hand in the incident. The July 21 incident was a dark chapter in Bengal’s political history. For the sake of humanity, let the guilty be given exemplary punishment,” Hakim told the commission.
Hakim said some media vehicles took the injured to SSKM Hospital and Hakim was in one of the vehicles. He claimed that he stayed at the hospital till late in the night.
“We did not get permission to construct a stage for our programme and the programme was addressed from atop a matador. When police started firing, one of our workers ducked under the matador to save his life. Police dragged him out from the matador and shot him from point blank range,” Hakim alleged.
{{/usCountry}}“We did not get permission to construct a stage for our programme and the programme was addressed from atop a matador. When police started firing, one of our workers ducked under the matador to save his life. Police dragged him out from the matador and shot him from point blank range,” Hakim alleged.
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