BJP man killed as workers clash with cops in Siliguri

A BJP supporter was killed and many others were injured on Monday when the saffron workers clashed with the police during a rally at Bengal’s northern city of Siliguri.

While the senior BJP leadership blamed the police for its worker’s death the police denied charges saying the cause of the deceased BJP worker Ulen Roy would be known only after postmortem as the cops did not resort to firing or lathi charge as was alleged by the opposition party.

As a mark of protest the BJP has called North Bengal bandh on Tuesday which incidentally coincides with the Bharat Bandh called by the opposition parties showing solidarity with the farmers’ protest against the farm laws brought by the Centre.

Cut to Siliguri: All hell broke loose after the police stopped hundreds of charging BJP workers who hurled brickbats at the cops, pulled down barricades and set fire to them, sources said adding the police fired tear gas shells and water cannons before baton-charging the protesters in a bid to chase them away.

The BJP had earlier organized s march to Uttarkanya the second secretariat of the State Government situated in Siliguri. “The police indiscriminately lathi-charged and tear-gassed our men who were organizing a peaceful rally to raise popular demands,” said Bengal BJP Dilip Ghosh alleging the Trinamool Congress Government carried out the assault on peaceful protesters “much in Nandigram style as the police teamed up with the TMC goons who hurled country bombs from hidden places… The CPI(M) did this in Nandigram and other places before being thrown away by the people.

“Now the Trinamool has become so overconfident that they too are resorting to state repression which will not be tolerated by the people at large. People are watching all these and will give a befitting reply in the coming elections.”

Intermittent violence took place as the two sides clashed with each other at various places from Teenbatti More to Phulbari during which the victim sustained injuries, sources said. Doctors at the private hospital said that he was brought in a gasping condition with a number of small holes in his body that resembled pellet injuries. He succumbed to his injuries soon after.

More people were injured and had been admitted to various hospitals, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijaybargiya said adding how “I was saved by a whisker when a bomb dropped in the vicinity along with tear gas shells … many of our workers were injured from lathi-blows and bomb splinters… it is a complete lawlessness here deserving a central rule,” he alleged.

Darjeeling BJP MP Raju Bishta too said Bengal merited President’s Rule alleging how the “Mamata Banerjee Government has taken away the minimum right to protest from the people. There is no law and order in the State … the way the police and TMC goons teamed up to attack the protesting BJP workers leaves no other alternative … but President’s Rule and we will take this issue up with the President of India.”

 

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