KOLKATA: Five men were killed in two brutal incidents in West Bengal on Sunday while a BJP central team visited the state and warned the state government of stern action as its workers were being repeatedly attacked, allegedly by TMC goons.
Four TMC workers were hacked to death at Raidighi in South 24 Parganas allegedly by a large group of CPM workers while they were returning from a meeting.
An FIR has been lodged against 21 CPM workers including former state minister Kanti Ganguly. Ganguly however, denied any link of his party with the murders saying: “It was a result of factional feud within the TMC. It was a clash between those who recently joined the TMC and some old loyalists. The CPM has no connection at all with the murders, which are no doubt unfortunate.”
Four men have been arrested, but the police have not revealed their political identity.
In another incident at Bhadreswar in Hooghly district, the owner of North Brooke Jute Mills H K Maheswari was assaulted by workers of the mill and succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. During a dispute between the management and the workers over their duty roster, the violent workers severely beat up Maheswari.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wondered about connection between such violent incidents and the visit of BJP central team. The BJP team led by two MPs Kirti Azad, Balbir Punj and chairman of the party’s minority wing Abdul Rashid Ansari visited the home of its worker Sheikh Rahim at Ilambajar in Birbhum district who was allegedly killed by TMC goons on June 7. They addressed a public meeting there where thousands of BJP workers, mainly Muslims, gathered. Azad warned the ruling TMC saying, “Law and order is a state subject but the Centre will not be a mute spectator to killings of our workers by TMC men. Incidents of terror in West Bengal have increased after the TMC came to power.
“We will submit a report to the Prime Minister and also Union Home Minister. We urge Mamata Banerjee to ensure that workers of political parties are not attacked by her party men,” he said.
Another BJP central team which had visited Sandeshkhali on June 8 had in a report to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh alleged that TMC had provided shelter to known criminals from Bangladesh who had opened fire on BJP workers leaving 12 seriously injured.
A TMC team led by state minister Partha Chatterjee that visited Raidighi alleged about “joint conspiracy by the BJP and the CPM to create law and order problems in West Bengal”. “Frequently the BJP is sending its central teams to West Bengal and their leaders are instigating CPM workers to kill our party men. The BJP now is providing the much needed oxygen to the non-existent Marxists,” he said.
Didi Flays BJP, Left
Condemning the killing of a CEO of a jute mill allegedly by workers in Hooghly district, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday alleged that it was an act of the “the CPM and BJP goons”, the PTI reported.
“It is very unfortunate. I heard that the unions of the CPM and the BJP assembled at the jute mill with their demands and CEO H K Maheswari came out to hear them when he was beaten up mercilessly. On the way to hospital, he succumbed to his injuries,” the Chief Minister said while pointing out that there was no employees union of the Trinamool Congress there.