Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, March 23: As the Birbhum district violence in West Bengal in which eight people were burnt alive quickly snowballing into TMC – BJP political spat, the prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked the chief minister Mamata Banerjee to take strict action against the perpetrators of the crime while assuring all necessary central assistance to the state for investigating into the incident.
Ms Banerjee who described the incident “unfortunate” said her government would take actions “in a fair manner.” While a BJP delegation visited the site on Wednesday, the chief minister said she would visit the village in Rampurhat on Thursday. Targeted by the BJP over the incident, Banerjee on Wednesday said she was not justifying the killings but said “such incidents have happened in Gujarat and Rajasthan too” but no one made such political clamour then.
Modi condoled the Birbhum violence stating, “I express my condolences over Birbhum violence. Whatever help is needed to book culprits, I assure all possible help from Centre to State. I hope state government takes strict action against culprits, and those who encourage such criminals should not be forgiven too,” said Modi.
The Calcutta High Court stepped in and decided to take suo motu cognisance of the case. It ordered the state government to immediately install CCTV cameras with adequate storage facilities covering all angles of the scene of the crime in the presence of the district judge. It also ordered a Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) team to visit the site and collect required evidence for forensic analysis.
Amidst reports that some key eye-witnesses of the incident had been “kidnapped and missing,” the High Court directed the police to ensure adequate protection for witnesses so that they are not threatened or influenced. The court, however, turned down the demand for a CBI probe saying the state should be given a chance first. The police also denied anyone was kidnapped and said none of the person from the affected village was “missing.”
A BJP delegation led by Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, was stopped from visiting the spot as police had put up barricades just outside Bogtui village as per the High Court’s order. Adhikari, however, has alleged that these are attempts to shield the culprits by removing evidence.
On BJP leaders visiting the spot, Banerjee had earlier said: “This is Bengal, not Uttar Pradesh. I had sent a delegation of Trinamool to Hathras (where a young woman died in 2020 after being gang-raped) but we were not allowed entry. But we are not stopping anyone from coming here.”
Horrifying videos showing charred bodies, including those of women and children, have surfaced on social media. The BJP has said this is not an isolated incident and accused the ruling Trinamool of orchestrating the killing of political opponents. It has also demanded President’s rule in the state.
The BJP has raised its pitch against Trinamool Congress, claiming it’s the latest in a long list of political killings in Bengal. The party has demanded Banerjee’s resignation and an investigation by central agencies. “More than 200 BJP workers have been killed so far in the state. What is the government doing? This can’t be tolerated,” BJP MP Dilip Ghosh said.
The charred bodies, six women and two children, were found on Tuesday morning at the Bogtui village in Rampurhat in Birbhum district hours after a mob locked people in their homes and set them on fire allegedly in protests over the murder of a Trinamool Congress leader, Bhadu Sheikh. Seven of family of one Sanju Sheikh were found dead in the burnt homes.
At least 22 people have been arrested so far in connection with the violence. 11 were arrested the same day. “We are grilling them to find out if there were more people involved in the incident. Some accused seem to have fled the village. We are trying to trace them,” a senior police officer said. He also stated that forensic experts were examining the ravaged houses to get an idea about the “nature of the mishap.”
“It’s a very unfortunate incident. No words are sufficient to condemn it. Calcutta HC has given directions to the central forensics department. We demand an NIA or CBI probe. SIT is a wing of state government and CM is trying to save the govt. President’s Rule is the only way to save our Bengal,” Adhikari said. This is the second time in less than a day when Adhikari has called for President’s Rule in the state.
The Bengal BJP has urged the Centre to intervene in the matter, with several saffron party MPs showing placards against the Mamata Banerjee government in the Lok Sabha earlier in the day.
Refuting the allegation that the Trinamool workers murdered the BJP supporters, Banerjee said those not in power were harassing the government and maligning it. “We are running the government. Why would we want murder, bloodshed and bomb blast? Such things are done by those who are not in power just to harass the government and malign us,” the chief minister said. “I have immediately dismissed the OC, SDPO (officer in-charge, sub-divisional police officer) of Rampurhat. I will go to Rampurhat tomorrow,” the Chief Minister said.
Earlier in the day, the political activist governor Jagdeep Dhankhar wrote a strongly-worded letter to Banerjee accusing the chief minister of attempts to shield the guilty. “As usual you have taken accusatory stance (in your March 22 communication) at my restrained just reaction to grisly carnage, worst in recent memory at Rampurhat, where reportedly the entire family of Sanju Sheikh — six women and two children were burnt alive in Bogtui village. The casualty figure is stated to be higher as per reports. This shocking carnage is being justifiably compared by many to the incidents in the state a few years ago, while you were in the opposition,” he wrote.
The chief minister soon hit back at the governor. “One ladsahab is sitting here and making statements every time that the situation in West Bengal is bad.”
The Birbhum killings have escalated into a massive political row with the BJP in Bengal as well as the Centre, and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of allowing the state to lapse into chaos and lawlessness. Dhankhar had on Tuesday called the death of eight people “horrific” and claimed that the state was in the grip of a culture of “violence and lawlessness”.
Banerjee responded sharply, saying that his comments were “uncalled for.” Dhankhar, in his three-page reply to Banerjee hit back saying the Chief Minister had taken an “accusatory stance” at his “restrained reaction.” “Adopting diversionary tactics, you have labelled my reaction as a sweeping and uncalled for statement. In the face of such enormity, I cannot fiddle in Raj Bhavan and be a mute spectator,” he added. “Nothing can be more farcical” than the claim that the state had always been peaceful, barring a few incidents, the Governor wrote to Banerjee asserting that a “politically-caged investigation” in the state inspired no confidence.