Bengal governor visits riot-hit Asansol, Ranigunj
West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on Saturday visited the riot-hit areas of Asansol and Ranigunj in West Burdwan district where communal clashes broke out over Ram Navami processions on March 27 and continued for a few days. Tripathi held a meeting with police and administrative officers and talked to people in neighbourhoods where clashes took place .
“I came here to apprise myself of the situation. The officers told me how it (the riot) happened and how it was controlled. Peace should be paramount. I have come here with the message of peace. I appeal to all people to live in harmony,” he told reporters after visiting some affected areas in Asansol.
Tripathi declined comment on the police’s handling of the riot. There have been allegations that the police were slow to react.
Interestingly, a team of state Congress leaders headed by its West Bengal president Adhir Chowdhury, was not allowed to enter Asansol in the afternoon. Police stopped them at Kalna, about two kilometres from the town. “How can prohibitory orders be applicable on highways? The government does not want people to know the truth,” an upset Chowdhury said.
Meanwhile, Left leaders, led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) legislator Sujan Chakraborty, were stopped from entering Ranigunj. Four Bharatiya Janata Party members of Parliament from Delhi are scheduled to visit Asansol on Sunday. Senior state government officials told HT on Friday that they too would not be allowed to visit troubled areas.
The two industrial towns are limping back to normalcy.
In Asansol, Tripathi held a meeting with the district magistrate Sashant Sethi and other officers, including LN Meena, the commissioner of police; and Rajeev Mishra, inspector general, western zone. The three officials submitted separate reports to the governor. “All the reports said normalcy has returned but patrolling will continue in some areas,” said an officer who asked not to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media.
A middle-aged man, Mahesh Mondal, was killed during clashes in Ranigunj town on Tuesday. The town’s deputy commissioner of police suffered a serious injury when a bomb hit his right arm. The violence later spread to Asansol, where a 16-year-old boy, Sibtullah Rashidi, was killed. Rashidi’s father, Indadul Rashidi, the imam of a local mosque, asked people to help restore peace.
RAHUL PRAISES IMAM
NEW DELHI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday praised Imam Rashidi and Yashpal Saxena from Delhi as both of them appealed for peace despite losing their sons in communal violence.