A day after the horrific Birbhum massacre in which at least eight people were charred to death following the death of a TMC leader, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tried to paly it down by saying that such incidents are more common in other states. The CM on Wednesday said that while she did not justify Birbhum killings, such incidents are more common in the Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan.
The West Bengal Chief Minister attempted to dilute the issue by claiming that incidents such as the Birbhum massacre have happened in other states as well.
“I am not justifying the incident in Rampurhat. We will take action in a fair manner. This is Bengal, not Uttar Pradesh. I had sent a delegation of TMC to Hathras, but we were not allowed an entry. But we are not stopping anyone from coming here,” the West Bengal CM said.
This is Bengal, not Uttar Pradesh. I had sent a delegation of TMC to Hathras but we were not allowed an entry. But we are not stopping anyone from coming here: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee pic.twitter.com/R9FW8Jox45
— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2022
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee claimed that she would be visiting the violence-hit Birbhum district where at least eight people, including two children, were charred to death and nearly a dozen houses were set ablaze on Tuesday as a response to the alleged killing of a ruling TMC panchayat official.
“Will be going to violence-hit Birbhum district on Thursday to take stock of the situation….have also postponed visit as other political parties huddling there,” Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee was quoted as saying by ANI.
The Chief Minister also claimed that the government would take strict action against those found guilty of the Birbhum violence. “The government is ours, we are concerned about people in our state. We would never want anyone to suffer. The Birbhum, Rampurhat incident is unfortunate. I have immediately dismissed the OC, SDPO. I will go to Rampurhat tomorrow,” CM Mamata Banerjee said.
Birbhum massacre
At least eight people were charred to death after unidentified miscreants set a dozen houses on fire. The incident took place in the Rampurhat area in the Birbhum district of West Bengal.
The West Bengal police have recovered seven dead bodies from a single house, which was then sent to the Rampurhat medical college hospital. As per a report, the miscreants locked the houses outside before setting them ablaze, leaving no room for the occupants to vacate.
The incident took place after the killing of a Trinamool Congress (TMC) functionary named Bhadu Sheikh. The deceased was a panchayat member who has allegedly attacked with crude bombs while he was sitting at a shop on National Highway-60 on Monday (March 21).
At least 20 people have been arrested so far in connection with the violence in West Bengal’s Birbhum district.
Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry has sought a detailed report on the incident from the state government. The Calcutta High Court has also taken suo moto cognisance of the Birbhum massacre. A bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj is slated to hear the matter after 2 pm on Wednesday.
