Bengal violence: Fresh clashes break out in trouble-hit Bhatpara soon after BJP panel's visit

As the delegation left, two groups, one led by the BJP and other by TMC, engaged in pitched battle as both sides hurled country-made bombs and stones at each other.
BJP's SS Ahluwalia in Bhatpara  (Photo | ANI Twitter)
BJP's SS Ahluwalia in Bhatpara (Photo | ANI Twitter)

KOLKATA:  Fresh violence broke out in Bhatpara in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district on Saturday soon after a delegation of BJP leaders, which visited the area, said police firing was responsible for the death of two people on Thursday. Meanwhile, BJP worker Nazibur Karim, who was allegedly attacked by Trinamool activists in Amdanga in the same district on Friday evening, succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.

The three-member BJP team, led by former Union minister and MP from Bengal S S Ahluwalia, landed in Kolkata on Saturday morning and went to Bhatpara, around 30 km from the state capital. The delegation, which also comprised former police officers Satya Pal Singh and V D Ram — MPs from Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand respectively — met the family members of those killed on Thursday and alleged that the bullets were fired from weapons like Insas and AK-47.

“The police is saying they fired in the air. If they had done that, how can it hit people?” Ahluwalia said.

Just after the BJP team left the area, several were injured as clashes again erupted between Trinamool and BJP workers. Earlier in the day, a joint CPM-Congress team also visited Bhatpara and echoed the BJP’s demand for a CBI probe into Thursday’s deaths. The Trinamool has blamed the BJP for the unrest.

In Amdanga, BJP worker Nazibur’s father alleged that local Trinamool activists had been threatening his son and him after they had joined the party before the Lok Sabha polls. Arjun Singh, the BJP MP from Barrackpore, met Nazibur’s family and said, “He was BJP’s booth agent in the elections. Nazibur was murdered only because he joined our party.” Police, however, claimed the attack was not politically motivated.

Both the areas in Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district come under Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency. Violence has plagued the former Trinamool citadel ever since Arjun, a former Trinamool MLA, crossed over to the BJP before the polls and was elected to the Lok Sabha from the seat. 

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