The nationwide strike called by the trade unions against the centre’s labour and economic policies has turned violent in West Bengal’s Malda district and shockingly the West Bengal police themselves seem to have resorted to vandalism after they were allegedly seen setting vehicles on fire.
According to News18, the West Bengal police were seen destroying vehicles in the Malda, West Bengal after the protests against the Modi government turned violent on Wednesday. In the video, policemen appear to be attacking cars with sticks and also allegedly set them on fire.
#NewsAlert | Startling twist emerges from Malda, West Bengal where local police is seen setting vehicles on fire. @Sougata_Mukh with insights. pic.twitter.com/DedCCCwS6j
— News18 (@CNNnews18) January 8, 2020
In the video, the journalist Sougata informs that while some vehicles were already burning at the time of video, one cannot say for sure they were set on fire by police but at around 1:00 in the video, one can see police allegedly vandalising the vehicles and using their weapons like lathis to smash the windscreen.
Earlier, there were reports that protests had reportedly turned violent in West Bengal’s Malda district and that the protestors had set police vehicles on fire. The earlier reports said that the police had fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets to disperse protestors.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has blamed the left parties and Congress for the violence that took place in the state during the Bharat Bandh protests on Wednesday against the union government.
