2 KILLED IN BOMB ATTACK ON ANTI-CAA RALLY IN WB
VIOLENCE Blame game begins as TMC, Cong and CPI(M) spar; police say they have detained ‘a few people’
BERHAMPORE: A teenager was among two people killed when a group of anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA,and National Register of Citizens (NRC) protesters were fired upon and attacked with crude bombs in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district on Wednesday, police said.
Opposition Congress and the organisers of the protest accused ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers of attacking the protesters. The TMC blamed the protestors for the firing and said a local TMC functionary’s brother was injured in the attack.
Sub-divisional police officer, Sandip Sen, confirmed that two people died in the firing and said they have detained “a few people”. Sen added raids were being conducted to arrest the attackers.
Imdadul Haque, a member of the CAA Birodhi Nagarik Mancha leading the protest, alleged TMC block president Tohiruddin Mondal’s associates fired at the protesters after he arrived at the protest site with some of his associates.
Tohiruddin Mondal said, “Will anyone ever believe that I tried to kill my own brother? Some Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist)-backed goons blocked the road with chairs, tables and logs. I didn’t have any information about any bandh in the area... When I reached there some people surrounded my car and damaged it. They also attacked the house of the local panchayat pradhan.”
Nur Islam, father of the deceased teenager identified the two killed as Salauddin Sheikh, 17 and the other Anarul Biswas, 55. Biswas died on the spot while Sheikh died on his way to a hospital, according to Imdadul Haque.
Three men have been hospitalised with bullet and splinter injuries, according to a doctor, who requested anonymity. Tohiruddin Mondal’s brother, Mantu Mondal, was among the injured and was admitted to Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital, Tohiruddin said.
Political commentator and columnist Suvashis Maitra said, “Violence has always been an integral part of politics in Murshidabad district and in recent years other districts have caught up. Infighting in the local TMC unit seems to be the main reason behind Wednesday’s violence.
The big question is, how workers of political parties are getting access to firearms and bombs at this scale. When Mamata Banerjee came to power she said there will be no more violence. What happened to that promise?”
The killings came two days after chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, urged her arch-rival CPI (M), and the Congress to put aside “narrow political differences” and jointly fight the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre as West Bengal became the fourth state to pass an assembly resolution against the CAA on Monday.
TMC lawmaker, Abdur Razzak, said their people were attacked with firearms and bombs when Tohiruddin Mondal rushed to the protest scene to request the protesters to leave as students were organising Saraswati Puja and were facing probgram lems.
“I have heard that two men have died. The deceased are not associated with any political party,” said Razzak.
He added for 15 days some Congress and CPI (M) men have been holding anti-CAA demonstrations under the banner of the CAA Birodhi Nagarik Mancha (Citizens’ Forum Against CAA).
Salauddin ’s father alleged the TMC-controlled local gram panchayat head, Milton Sheikh, shot dead his son. “...Milton Sheikh fired at my son from the roof of a house as my son was supporting the bandh [against CAA].”
Milton Sheikh could not be reached for comments as his phone was switched off.
TMC member of parliament, Abu Taher Khan, said they “firmly deny the involvement of any of our party leaders in the incident’’ and added they have requested police to conduct an impartial probe and arrest the culprits.
Mustak Ali, a member of the Mancha, said they were carrying out a peaceful protest and the TMC created trouble and killed the two men.
“We have heard that Tohiruddin’s brother was hit by a bullet fired by the TMC-backed goons.”
Murshidabad Congress spokesman, Jayanta Das, said Mamata Banerjee is protesting against the CAA and passed a resolution in the state assembly while her party leaders are killing people who are against the law. “This incident has proved that her party men are supporting the [BJP],” Das said.
The CAA was passed on December 11 last year to fasttrack the citizenship process for non-Muslims who entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh before 2015. It has triggered protests across the country with its opponents calling the law discriminatory and unconstitutional as it leaves out the Muslims and links faith to citizenship in a secular country. The opponents say it could result in the expulsion or detentions of the Muslims unable to provide the documentation if the law is seen in the context of the proposed pan-India NRC.
A process to identify undocumented immigrants in Assam led to the exclusion of around 2 million people from the NRC last year. The Centre has since clarified there are no immediate plans for a pan-India NRC.