Not Justifying Birbhum Killings But Such Incidents Common In UP, MP: Mamata Banerjee

Mumbai: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she isn’t justifying the incident in Birbhum, where eight people were killed after houses were set on fire, but added that such incidents are more frequent in UP, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan.

Banerjee was quick to add: “I am not justifying the incident in Rampurhat. We will take action in a fair manner.”

The “incident” that Banerjee spoke of was the horrific deaths of eight people in the village of Bogtui in Rampurhat, Birbhum.

Trinamool panchayat leader Bhadu Sheikh was reportedly killed in a bomb attack on Monday night. He lived in the village.

Seven members of the same family were killed in the arson when the miscreants set fire to 12 houses.

The opposition has described the deaths as “murder politics” and said the killings were retaliation. The BJP will send a fact-finding team to assess the biggest violence since Banerjee came to power last year.

Banerjee said on Wednesday that she was inviting everyone for a probe. “I had sent a delegation to Hathras (after the gang rape of a Dalit teenager), but we were not allowed entry. We are not stopping anyone from coming here. This is Bengal, not Uttar Pradesh.”

Describing the steps she has taken – dismissing local administration officers – Banerjee said: “The government is ours, we are concerned about people in our state. We would never want anyone to suffer. I will go to Rampurhat tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court has registered a case and a bench headed by the Chief Justice will hear it.

Banerjee has constituted a three-member special investigation team to probe the deaths.

Banerjee had cautioned him on Tuesday to allow the state to conduct an impartial probe after he suggested in a video message that human rights had been “decimated” in the state.

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