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By Anupam Mishra, Anirban Sinha Roy: Violent protests erupted again over the death of a tribal girl in West Bengal’s Kaliaganj on Friday, almost a week after her body was found in a village pond. Villagers allege she was raped and murdered and are demanding justice.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that a party member was killed in Kaliaganj after a police raid on Wednesday night. The youth belonged to the Rajbongshi community, the same as the girl’s.
The party had called for a 12-hour bandh on Friday in North Bengal over the deaths of the two people from the tribal Rajbongshi community.
BJP workers clashed with the West Bengal Police in various parts of North Bengal during the bandh.
The body of the Rajbongshi girl was found in Kaliaganj in Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal last Saturday. Uttar Dinajpur is one of the seven districts in North Bengal.
North Dinajpur wore a deserted look as most shops and markets were shut and public vehicles stayed off the roads during the bandh. The 12-hour bandh in North Bengal impacted normal life in Alipurdwar, Cooch Behar and Malda.
The band call had some effect in Siliguri.
Barring Darjeeling, the band called by BJP evoked a response in most of the North Bengal districts. Darjeeling, a tourist destination, had all its markets open for business and also saw transport services functioning.
Violent protests were seen in Cooch Behar where BJP supporters vandalised a public bus.
The protesters also blocked some roads in Malda by burning tyres.
Bengal Police detained BJP workers protesting over the Kaliaganj girl’s death and the killing of a BJP worker, Mritunjay Burman, in North Dinajpur.
The BJP alleged that Bengal police raided the house of Bishnu Barman, a BJP Panchayat Samiti member, at 2.30 am on April 27. The party said police shot dead the 33-year-old after the raid.
Calling the alleged murder of a party worker that belonged to the Rajbongshi community “shameful”, the BJP said that the bandh was called against “police brutality” in West Bengal.
BJP leader Debasree Choudhury said, “We have called for a bandh after seeing the condition here. This incident (the alleged murder of a BJP worker) was very shameful. Constant attacks on the Rajbangshi people, which shows that the TMC is against Rajbongshi people.
The BJP in West Bengal called for a 12-hour bandh in North Bengal, where the saffron party had performed well in the last Lok Sabha elections.
A few government buses plied on the roads during the bandh, however, with fewer passengers. Office-goers had to face problems as private commercial vehicles remained off the roads.
Violence erupted in West Bengal’s Kaliaganj on Saturday after a minor Rajbongshi girl was allegedly raped and murdered. Videos showed police personnel dragging the victim’s body through the street.
The alleged crime took place on Friday in Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district and the body of the victim was later found by locals.
A week later, the state police were accused of killing a tribal youth, Mrityunjay Barman, in Kaliaganj, also from the Rajbongshi community.
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