North Dinajpur: Parts of Kaliyaganj in North Dinajpur turned into a battlefield after few protestors had a scuffle with police and later torched the Kaliyaganj police station along with few vehicles over the alleged gangrape and murder of a 17 years old Rajbangshi girl last week.
Protestors representing Rajbangshi and tribal organizations had an agitation programme to gherao the police station but the police had made three barricades so that the protestors didn't create any untoward incident.
The protest turned violent when protesters pelted stones, tried to break down the Police barricade and set a police station and vehicles on fire. Police used tear gas to disperse them. Visuals that surfaced from the area show people pelting stones. At a distance, a property can be seen burning. In another part of the video, the force along with the police is seen taking cover from the stone being pelted at them. They were seen using tear gas to disperse the crowd attacking them.
watch video here:
Protest was initially peaceful
While the protestors were trying to break the third barricade, the police had to resort to lathi charge and fire tear gas shells to disperse the crowds. But somehow the mob broke the barricade and torched the police station and a few vehicles parked outside.
According to police sources, the protest was initially peaceful but the violence erupted once the mob tried to break the barricades.
Former police officer Salil Bhattacharya however, claimed that the police action was ‘shameful’.
“Even before the autopsy was done, police gave statements and the way the police dragged the body was also shameful,” Bhattacharya mentioned.
Political slugfest over violence
Political slugfest also erupted after Trinamool Congress claimed that the violence was created by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“BJP is playing politics with death. They are purposely trying to create tension in the area,” said TMC Rajya Sabha MP Shantanu Sen.
It may be recalled that a teenager girl’s body was found at Kaliyaganj on last Friday who was allegedly raped and killed.
Though the family members of the deceased demanded a CBI probe as they don’t have ‘faith’ in the police, the primary autopsy report revealed that the cause of death is due to poison.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) also visited the state and is also looking into the matter.
Gangrape, death of minor
The case of the death of a minor girl student in North Dinajpur district of West Bengal has led to a tense situation in the region. The student of class 10 was allegedly killed after being gang-raped.
The girl had reportedly been missing since Thursday evening after she left home to attend tuition classes in evening. Despite efforts to find her, the family had not found her and registered a police complaint following morning. Last Sunday the locals found her body in a canal.
