West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. file | Photo Credit: ANI
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on 26 April directed the police to take strong action, including attaching properties of those involved in the violence, after more videos emerged related to an attack on a police station in Kaliyaganj district of West Bengal.
A crowd attack on kaliaganj police station And set it on fire on 25 April. Protest by locals in Kaliyaganj death of a teenager, and the situation soon turned violent. Videos of the incident that surfaced on 26 April show several policemen in uniform hiding in a room, pleading with the protesters to spare them. In another video, a group of youths can be seen thrashing two civilian police volunteers who were pleading with the crowd to let them go. The attack on Kaliaganj police station and policemen has caused a lot of embarrassment to the West Bengal government. Many policemen were injured in this incident. When the mob attacked the police station, the policemen took shelter in nearby houses, but still they were not spared. Several motorcycles and vehicles were set ablaze inside the police station premises.
The chief minister blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the violence. “The BJP is doing hooliganism in West Bengal because it has the support of the Centre,” he said. The Chief Minister said that “BJP goons from Bihar ransacked the police station and attacked police personnel. They also assaulted women policemen.
The chief minister said the death of the teenage girl was unfortunate and added that the police had accessed some WhatsApp conversations that hinted at “love issues”. While family members and locals claim that the teenager was sexually assaulted and murdered, the police have maintained that the death was due to consumption of poison. Kaliaganj, a town in West Bengal’s Uttar Dinjapur district, has been on the boil ever since the body of a teenager was found on April 21.
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The development also sparked a public spat between the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR). On 25 April, the NCPCR wrote a letter to the Directorate General of West Bengal Police stating that the victim’s name had come up in the post-mortem. The Chief Minister had also said that some media organizations are taking the name of the victim and WBCPCR will initiate action.
Ms Banerjee also came down heavily on the NCPCR and said its chairman’s visit to the state was politically motivated. Earlier in the day, a BJP delegation met West Bengal Governor CV Anand Bose and apprised him of the current situation in Kaliaganj. The delegation was led by Manoj Tigga, Chief Whip of the BJP in the state assembly. “We have urged the governor to ensure action against the guilty. The manner in which tribals are being attacked in different parts of the state is unacceptable. The state government should take prompt action to ensure justice,” Mr. Tigga said. The deceased girl belongs to Rajbanshi community which is listed under Scheduled Caste in West Bengal
The state BJP leadership has said that they do not support violence against the police, but attributed the violence to non-handling of the situation by the administration.