CM Mamata Banerjee arrives in Birbhum (ANI)Birbhum violence case Live Updates: In Bogtui, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday met the families of the victims and announced Rs 2 lakh compensation for rebuilding the scorched homes. Promising jobs to ten families affected by the violence, Banerjee added that she would ensure “speedy justice”.
Security was ramped up ahead of the CM’s visit in the violence-hit district, where eight people, including women and children, were killed on Tuesday. A Congress delegation including party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was stopped at Santiniketan in Birbhum shortly before Banerjee arrived, ANI reported.
Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court has sought a status report on the Birbhum violence from the West Bengal government by Thursday 2 pm.
Eight charred bodies were recovered from a cluster of houses in Bugtoi village on Tuesday. The violence was reportedly sparked by the murder of a deputy gram pradhan, Bhadu Sheikh, associated with the TMC. Hours after the murder, a cluster of houses, including those of the accused in Bhadu’s murder, was allegedly attacked and set on fire.
Villegers gathering in front of Bhadu Sheikh's house. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)
Following a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said, "We've said that Governor of West Bengal should be removed, in view of the Rampurhat, Birbhum incident."
"His work is against our constitutional system. Parliamentary democratic system is under threat," the TMC MP was quoted as saying by ANI.
"We've given a copy of the letter by the CM for (removal of) Governor to the Home Min... Our CM (Mamata Banerjee) is catering to the situation in a fine manner. 21 persons have been arrested so far, 15 police officials have been asked to go on leave. No guilty person will be spared," he added.
Speaking to the victims of the Birbhum violence, CM Mamata Banerjee said, "You have lost a family member, but I am heart-broken".
She added, "Police will ensure that the strictest punishment is handed out to culprits responsible for Rampurhat carnage." The case filed before court should be water-tight, Banerjee was quoted as saying by PTI.
Revising her earlier statement, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the government will provide Rs 2 lakh compensation to rebuiled the houses in Birbhum's Bogtui village.
Mamata Banerjee announced Rs 1 lakh compensation for rebuilding the scorched homes and promised jobs to the victims' families.
"I want to set an example by ensuring speedy justice to the victims," she added.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited Bogtui village Thursday and interacted with the family of the victims.
While visiting the families of the victims of the violence in Birbhum, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that she wants action against officials who haven't discharged their duties.
"Had the police taken action on time, all of this could have been avoided," Banerjee said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has arrived in Bogtui village in Rampurhat. She is expected to visit the family of the slain TMC leader.
The Indian Youth Congres (IYC) has filed a complaint with the NHRC (National Human Rights Commission) against the West Bengal Governor over the Birbhum violence.
"As usual you (Mamata Banerjee) 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 Bogtoi village," Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said in a tweet Wednesday.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday asked Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar to refrain from making “unwarranted statements”. The strong reaction from the chief minister came hours after Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar hit out at the state administration over the Birbhum incident, which he described as “horrifying violence and arson orgy”.
Security has been ramped up in Rampurhat ahead of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s scheduled visit to Bogtui later during the day.
She will be hold meetings with senior police officers including Director General of Police Manoj Malaviya before visiting Bogtui. Later, she may also visit Rampurhat hospital to meet the injured people, PTI has reported.
CCTVs have been set up around the helipad where the chief minister's helicopter will land, a senior police officer said.
Expressing his condolences to the families of Tuesday’s Birbhum violence victims, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he hopes the state government will get the perpetrators punished. “Main hinsak vaardaat par dukh vyakt karta hoon, apni samvedna vyakt karta hoon, aur asha karta hoon ki rajya sarkar Bengal ki mahaan dharti par aisa jaghanya paap karne waalon ko zaroor saza dilwayegi (I express my condolences on the violent incident in Birbhum, and hope the state government will get those who committed such a heinous sin on the great land of Bengal punished),” he said, while digitally inaugurating ‘Biplobi Bharat Gallery’ at Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial Hall on Wednesday evening. Read more
The Calcutta High Court has sought a status report on the Birbhum violence from the West Bengal government by Thursday 2 pm. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava, taking up a suo motu petition and a set of PILs, directed the installation of CCTV cameras in the presence of the district judge and 24×7 CCTV surveillance of the scene of occurrence.
The court also directed a team of Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Delhi to immediately collect necessary materials for forensic examination at Bogtui village where at least eight people were charred to death. Read more
With the Calcutta High Court directing the West Bengal police to submit a report on the killing of eight people in Birbhum following a local TMC leader’s murder, and the BJP taking aim at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the incident, the family members of those targeted in Bogtui village told The Indian Express that the women and children who were killed had huddled together in one room but the assailants “still set it on fire”.
The family members also alleged that ten of their kin were killed on Monday night, and not eight as claimed by the police and that even those eight bodies were not handed over to them but buried by police late on Tuesday night in the village. Read the story here
A delegation of nearly 55 BJP MLAs visited Bagtui village in Birbhum district where eight people, including women and children, were charred to death after their houses were set on fire a day before.
The legislators led by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari inspected the burnt houses in the village. Demanding a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or the CBI into the incident, Adhikari claimed that chief minister Mamata Banerjee will be visiting the scene of crime to destroy evidence.
The opposition leader said he had written a letter to the Union home secretary on the issue. “It is a very unfortunate incident, a genocide. The SIT is part of the state police. The President’s rule is the only way to save Bengal,” Adhikari said, blaming the CM for the incident. Read more
"I will go there (Bogtui village) Thursday. I would have gone there today (Wedensday), but a few political parties are on their way to the place. It would get late by the time they return. I don't want to visit the place when they (opposition leaders) are around. I don't want to get into any quarrel," Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday.
"Let them relish ‘lyangcha' and then get on with their journey to Rampurhat," Banerjee quipped.
Referring to past incidents of violence in other states, she said that her party MPs were stopped at the airport in Assam, where they had gone to protest NRC implementation, and entry wasn't allowed in UP's Hathras and Unnao (where gang-rape cases occurred), too, but her government would never do the same. "This is Bengal, not UP. We allowed everyone to visit Birbhum," she said.
"Not justifying the Birbhum killings, but such incidents are more frequent in UP, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan," Banerjee said. (PTI)