The Bharatiya Janata Party has accused the West Bengal government of failing to take action against those involved in the recent attack on party workers in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district.
A team of BJP leaders that met the victims of the violence last week, alleged that shots were fired by the perpetrators to frighten the victims and not kill them. Residents were intimidated even as the police filed counter cases against the injured and the traumatised.
The team will submit its report to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh this week.
Violence broke out in Sandeshkhali following the declaration of Lok Sabha poll results on May 16. BJP supporters celebrating the party’s success were beaten up and shot at by miscreants allegedly supported by the Trinamool Congress.
BJP leaders Siddharth Nath Singh, Meenakshi Lekhi and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi from New Delhi, along with newly-elected MPs S.S. Ahluwalia and Babul Supriyo, visited the area to asses the impact of the violence.
“Violence in West Bengal was reported even before polls began and Sandeshkhali was not the only place. The entire North 24 Parganas has seen violence, but there has been no action from the State government. Victims in Sandeshkhali told us that the police did not register their complaints. In fact, they filed FIRs against them in fake cases. Since, a majority of the victims are Dalits, cases should been filed under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which has still not been done,” said Mr. Singh.
