Amidst reports of intermittent violence emerging in West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur area following the brutal rape and murder of a minor Dalit girl on Friday (April 21) morning, a video is being shared on Twitter with claims that the angry locals held the police official hostage and beat them up. Several cops were reportedly injured in the incident.
The video was first shared by TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh on April 26 on Twitter.
কালিয়াগঞ্জ।
— Kunal Ghosh (@KunalGhoshAgain) April 26, 2023
এই গুন্ডামির পরেও পুলিশ সংযত ছিল, গুলি চালায়নি।
বামফ্রন্টের পুলিশ হলে গুলিতে মৃত্যুর মিছিল হত, যেমন হয়েছিল বারবার।
হামলাকারীদের গ্রেপ্তার চাই। যারা প্ররোচনা দিয়েছে, তাদেরকেও ধরা দরকার।
ধর্ষণের মিথ্যা কথা রটানো, উত্তেজনা ছড়িয়ে এই হামলা কঠোর শাস্তিযোগ্য। pic.twitter.com/ogrww28IAG
In the video, some cops can be seen assaulted by some people, with the policemen screaming in pain, amid noise by people present at the spot. It can be seen that four policemen are lying on the ground inside a house, and around half a dozen people were beating them using sticks.
Reportedly, the policemen were assaulted by angry locals after the police had dragged the body of the minor Dalit girl, the victim of the rape and murder. Moreover, when the villagers had protested demanding justice, the police lathi-charged them.
There is widespread anger against the police following the incident, and the police station in Kaliyaganj of Uttar Dinajpur district was attacked and set on fire by a mob on Tuesday. At least 17 policemen were injured in the incident where several vehicles and a police barrack was also set on fire.
Meanwhile, speaking on the attack on the police official, Wst Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sent people from Bihar to burn down the police station and public property and that they brutally beat up women police personnel.
“BJP brought people from Bihar. They beat up the women Police personnel brutally. I won’t say that the Kaliaganj incident was planned. It’s an unfortunate incident and we are with the family. But what happened later was planned,” said the WB CM.
BJP brought people from Bihar. They beat up the women Police personnel brutally. I won’t say that the Kaliaganj incident was planned. It's an unfortunate incident and we are with the family. But what happened later was planned: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Kaliaganj violence
— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2023
Some media houses reported that on Tuesday, as many as 2000 locals, who brought out a march over the brutal rape and murder of the Dalit girl, attacked cops with stones and bricks and chased them away before setting ablaze Kaliaganj police station. The locals were angry at the highhandedness of the cops who had mishandled the victim’s body and their subsequent negligence in handling the case.
“As the police stopped the protesters near a barricade, the agitators pelted the law enforcers with bricks and stones. The police retaliated with batons, tear gas and stun grenades but they were outnumbered. We saw the law enforcers running away as the mob raided the police station. Soon, smoke and flames billowed out of the police station. I had never seen something like this in my life,” said a local resident who witnessed the attack.
By late Tuesday evening, the police detained around 25 people on charges of violence.
“It was a pre-planned attack. Seventeen police personnel were injured. We are conducting raids to round up the attackers and the arsonists. Patrolling is also going on in the town,” said Ajay Kumar, additional director general of police (north Bengal).
Uttar Dinajpur murder case
On Friday (April 21) morning, the dead body of a 17-year-old Dalit girl was discovered floating in a canal in the Kaliagunj area. The kins of the victim alleged that the teenager was raped prior to her murder. The girl had gone missing on her way to tuition classes on Thursday (April 20).
Angry locals along with the victim’s family members blocked a road, alleging it to be a case of gang rape.
On receiving information, the police reached the spot and started raining lathis and firing tear gas shells at the demonstrators. As per reports, the protesters also pelted bricks at the police.
Several people were reportedly injured in the incident. Some of them were also detained by the cops.
Amidst all this, a video emerged wherein the West Bengal police were seen mishandling the victim’s body. BJP also alleged that the police were suppressing and diluting evidence and that the victim’s body was dragged in such a manner which wasn’t dignified.
In this video, the body West Bengal Police is insensitively dragging is that of a minor rape and murder victim from the Rajbongshi community in Uttar Dinajpur’s Kaliaganj. Such haste is often seen when the purpose is to eliminate or dilute evidence and cover up the crime… pic.twitter.com/zgz2Rxlik1
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) April 22, 2023
Chairperson Rekha Sharma also wrote to the West Bengal DGP, seeking a fair and time-bound investigation of the case. She also demanded strict action against the police personnel for inappropriate handling of the dead body of the victim.
