KOLKATA: Within a week of a minor girl being found dead in Kaliaganj, North Dinajpur, a man was killed by gunshot in the same area. Local people alleged the tragedy took place after police opened fire.
It was alleged that the police conducted raids in the Radhikapur area and the men in uniform were surrounded by local people. The police allegedly opened fire to disperse the gathering and a stray bullet hit Mrityunjay Burman (33), the deceased from the Rajbagnshi community, a backward class.
The incident following the death of the teenage girl escalated tension in the area.
No police officer was available for comment on the allegation of firing by the police.
Allegations against the police surfaced a day after West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee directed police to swing into action and take stern action against those who were responsible for violent protests attacking policemen after the girl’s death.
The BJP held the “trigger-happy” police of the Trinamool Congress-led government responsible for Burman’s death. “Trigger happy ‘Mamata’ police raided the house of BJP panchayat Samity Member Bishnu Barman at 2.30 am midnight but did not find him. They brutally shot a Rajbangshi young man named Mrityunjay Barman (33). This is tyranny and state terror at its worst form and Mamata Banerjee is merry-making like Emperor Nero while the state is burning and sliding into a phase of civil unrest,” tweeted BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.
Hitting back at Adhikari, TMC MP Shantanu Sen said, “The BJP is master of doing politics over deaths and that is evident from the Kaliaganj minor’s case. In this case, they are trying to do the same.”
Bishnu said police picked up his father after the police did not find him. “I have no idea why the police were looking for me,” he said.
Mrityunjay’s father Rabindranath alleged policemen came in uniform and when the local people protested, they opened fire.