'Malda violence between BSF and locals'

KOLKATA, Jan 9: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday asserted that the recent violence in Malda district was not commul strife but a fight between BSF personnel and residents of the area.

Banerjee, who at the two-day Bengal Global Business Summit here repeatedly asserted there was no commul tension in the state when asked to comment on the Malda violence, said the incident was distorted and misinformation was spread about it.

“It has been distorted and misinformed about what actually happened there. It was a struggle between the BSF and the locals and the state is not involved in any way in this matter,” Banerjee told mediapersons at the summit.

“The scuffle was between BSF and the locals and that (the incident) is not within party, state government or state police. We just maged the situation,” she said.

Strongly objecting to Banerjee’s claims, the Bharatiya Jata Party (BJP) accused the chief minister of spreading misinformation.

“The chief minister is spreading misinformation and trying to wash off the responsibilities. If it was really a fight between the BSF and the locals then why the Kaliachak police station was attacked and as many as 11 police vehicles were torched?” BJP tiol secretary Rahul Sinha told IANS.

According to reports, protesting against remarks allegedly made to “hurt religious sentiments” in Uttar Pradesh, a large number of people on Sunday went on a rampage in Kaliachak, torching vehicles including those belonging to the Border Security Force (BSF) and also attacked a police station.

Sinha claimed the incident was orchestrated by the ruling Trimool Congress to destroy records of its people’s involvement in anti-tiol activities.

“The area is prone to cow smuggling, infiltration and fake note smuggling and records of all these activities are kept at the Kaliachak police station. “With the NIA taking over the Pathankot probe, Trimool is apprehensive that the agency may catch up with its activists and leaders involved in such anti-tiol activities. That is why this whole incident was devised so that the records in the police station can be destroyed,’ added Sinha.  (IANS)