Citing ‘humanitarian grounds’, the Mamata Banerjee government on Thursday announced a compensation of ₹2 lakh to the kin of two persons killed in alleged police firing at Bhangar in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district. Compensation was also announced for families who lost their kin in road accidents.
Protests over land acquisition for a power plant in Bhangar turned violent on Wednesday with thousands taking to the streets and attacking police vehicles. Two persons died of bullet injuries. The State government and the ruling Trinamool Congress had so far not admitted to any firing and had blamed outsiders for ‘inciting violence’. At a meeting with senior police officers, Ms. Banerjee directed that outsiders be arrested.
The CPI(M) has demanded that the Trinamool government “stop using force against the protesters.”
