72 hours after the violence in Birbhum CM Mamta Banerjee takes stock of the situation, BJP demands imposition of President’s rule

Trinamool block president accused of Rampurhat arson arrested two hours after CM Mamta passed the order, BJP and other opposition parties demand President's rule.

West Bengal – On Thursday, CM Mamta Banerjee took stock of the situation, 72 hours after the incident in which 10 people are alleged to have been burnt alive. She met the families of the victims of the violence and announced that they would be provided jobs in the government.

Besides government jobs, compensation for the victims include house renovation

On reaching Bhogtui village inRampurhat, Birbhum district, CM Mamta first met the victims' families. Seeing Didi, the families started to cry bitterly. She comforted them by placing her hands on their heads and at the same time gave the order for arresting the accused at the earliest. Didi, who reached Bhogtui village 72 hours after the incident, announced that the 10 families would all be provided one government job and Rs 2 lakhs each for the renovation of the houses destroyed by arson. Mamta also handed cheques of Rs 5 lakhs each to the families of those killed in the violence.

Accused caught within two hours

Mamta gave an order for the accused to be caught at the earliest. She said, "I don't want to hear any such excuse that the people have gotten away. Whoever did this should be arrested. If the police commit any error in this case, they will also be punished."

About two hours after the order was passed by the CM, the accused in the incident, TMC block president Anarul Hussain, was arrested by the police from Tarapith in Birbhum district.

Opposition demands invoking section 355 in the state

After this incident, while hearing a petition filed in the Calcutta High Court, the court-ordered installation of CCTV cameras at the site of arson.

This massacre is being discussed on the streets as well as in Parliament. During the budget session, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote a letter to the President demanding the imposition of Section 355 in the state. On the other hand, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said that the incident was shocking. "That people were burnt alive makes this the most terrible incident[to happen] in a democracy, and from which the government needs to learn. Because these are such blots. The stain on the government will never be removed."

The CPI(M) State Secretary, Mohd. Salim has said about the incident that "Under Trinamool rule, the police and the ruling party have become complicit with each other. The rampage by criminals continues in Bengal." Referring to that day, he says that this incident was carried out at the time when the men were gone from the village.

BJP demands President's rule

Following the arson, the BJP has been constantly trying to close in on the state government. Bengal's BJP has written a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah demanding President's rule. The BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh has demanded President's rule in the state citing the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. He said that Birbhum is a politically sensitive area, where political violence is at its height. Due to this, members of the opposition party are being targeted on a daily basis.

Further afield, Nandigram BJP MLA and leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari has called the incident unfortunate and demanded President's rule in the state. He said no words can duly condemn the incident. The CM only wants to save the government, and the president's rule is the only option to save Bengal.

What happened in Birbhum?

Panchayat leader of Bhogtui in Rampurhat, Birbhum district, Bhadu Sheikh of Trinamool Congress was allegedly attacked with a bomb in the village, following which he died in hospital. After this incident, incensed supporters torched a dozen houses late on Monday night, in which eight people and two children died in the fire, such that their remains were difficult even to identify.