The Hindu : National : Police at Dinhata were forced to fire: Buddhadeb

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 15, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

Police at Dinhata were forced to fire: Buddhadeb

Special Correspondent

AIFB MLA denies that his party supporters had turned violent

KOLKATA: The police opened fire on demonstrators at Dinhata in Cooch Behar district on February 5 after other measures to quell the disturbances failed, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told the Assembly here on Thursday.

Five supporters of the All-India Forward Bloc died in the firing while a member of the National Volunteer Force (NVF) was killed in subsequent violence that day.

The Central Reserve Police Force had not fired during the incident, Mr. Bhattacharjee said making a statement on the incident.

The police firing had been condemned by the AIFB, whose State secretary Ashok Ghosh had described it as “second Nandigram.”

Mr. Bhattacharjee said that initially the police resorted to a baton charge and burst tear gas shells to disperse demonstrators who had stormed into the office of the sub-divisional officer and additional chief judicial magistrate while participating in a law violation programme. When that failed, the police had to fire to save the lives of government employees and to protect government property.

The demonstrators had also set on fire a police vehicle, damaged another and a bus parked nearby.

Five persons died and several others were injured in the police firing. Twentyfour policemen were injured and an NVF member was killed when attacked by the demonstrators, Mr. Bhattacharjee said.

Panel probe

A judicial commission would begin its inquiries from March 17 and submit the report within six months, he added. But, AIFB members did not agree with the Chief Minister’s explanation.

Dipak Sarkar, MLA from Cooch Behar, claimed that the statement by the Chief Minister had been prepared by the police and denied that supporters of his party had turned violent. “It was the CRPF personnel who first fired [at the demonstrators] and were joined later by the police. They fired to kill and the Chief Minister has not made clear whether those responsible will be punished,” he said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National