The murder of a 26-year-old youth during a robbery at Barrackpore on Wednesday, has given a handle to the Opposition parties in West Bengal to raise questions on the law and order situation in the State.
Four unidentified robbers barged into a jewellery shop in the heart of the town in North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday evening. When they were met with resistance, the looters fired upon 26-year-old Niladri Singh, whose father owned the shop. The entire incident was caught on CCTV cameras installed inside the shop.
Even a day after the murder, there were no arrests. Not only the Opposition parties but also the lawmakers of the ruling party on Thursday raised questions about the role of the police.
Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh, who returned to the Trinamool Congress in May 2022 after winning the 2019 Lok Sabha poll on a BJP ticket, blamed the police and said that a section of the police was protecting criminals. Though the MP ruled out any political motive behind the crime, he said it was the work of organised crime syndicates and the police should have been more alert.
Local Barrackpore MLA Raj Chakraborty raised questions on why Barrackpore was being targeted again and again.
Barrackpore on boil
The Barrackpore subdivision in the State’s North 24 Parganas has been on the boil since 2017 and along with incidents of communal flare, there have been incidents of organised crime.
In October 2020, BJP leader Manish Shukla was gunned down in Barrackpore and Anupam Dutta, a Trinamool Congress councillor was shot dead in March 2022. There have been repeated incidents of robberies, crude bomb explosions and even shootings.
State BJP president Sukanata Majumdar said that political parties in power had always resorted to using anti-social elements and that was the reason why the town had got such a bad name.
Congress leader Koustav Bagchi, who met the family members of the deceased, held protests outside the local police station demanding action against the police officers. State’s Minister and Trinamool leader Firhad Hakim said that West Bengal shares borders with several states and countries and this was turning out to be a challenge for law and order issues.
Speculations arise
Only a few weeks ago, the State was on the boil over three murders in a span of a week. Between April 27 and May 2, three persons were killed across Uttar Dinajpur, Paschim Bardhaman and Purba Medinipur districts of the State. Two of the deceased were BJP supporters.
Earlier this month, 16 persons lost their lives in three separate incidents of explosion at illegal units and warehouses making illegal firecrackers or crude bombs. The incidents have given a handle to the Opposition parties to target the Trinamool Congress government in the State over the deterioration of law and order situation.
