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Under fire for rape & killings in Bengal, Mamata pulls up DMs of Nadia & Birbhum districts

District administrations' handling of Rampurhat killings and Hanskhali gang-rape & murder case has made govt lose face, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said in meeting Wednesday.

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Kolkata: Facing criticism over incidents of rape, murder, and other serious crimes in the state, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sought to pin the blame on the bureaucracy Wednesday.

During a meeting, she pulled up the district magistrates of Birbhum and Nadia — where the Rampurhat killings and the Hanskhali gang-rape and murder took place, respectively.

Chairing the virtual meeting from the state secretariat in Kolkata, Banerjee said the district administrations’ handling of the two cases had resulted in a loss of face for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in the state.

The Calcutta High Court had directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe both matters after examining the relevant case diaries.


Also Read: Birbhum killings: CBI report highlights ‘postmaster’ Bhadu Sheikh’s money power, slams police


Birbhum killings

Banerjee told officials Wednesday that the Rampurhat incident would not have occurred had the deputy superintendent of police (DSP) rushed to the spot and taken control of the situation in time.

“It takes one matchstick to light a fire; it was a very big mistake for which the government had a loss of face. Why should we bear the brunt for your mistakes? If the police had controlled the situation, we wouldn’t have been embarrassed by the media,” she told the Birbhum district magistrate.

Violence, allegedly in retaliation for the killing of a local TMC leader, had claimed the lives of eight people in Bogtui village in Rampurhat, Birbhum district, in March this year. A total of 26 arrests have been made in connection with the Birbhum killings by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the matter on the direction of the Calcutta High Court.

The CBI has also submitted a status report in this regard before a bench of the high court.

Nadia rape-murder

Turning her attention to Nadia, CM Mamata Banerjee highlighted the failure of the Hanskhali police department in effectively probing the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl.

The CBI, which took over the probe into the matter earlier this month, found that the minor was gangraped at the birthday party of a local TMC leader’s son in Hanskhali village on 4 April. She returned home bleeding profusely and died soon afterwards.

“Why did the incident occur? Don’t you have sources? Why should the government bear the brunt of your negligence,” Banerjee asked the Nadia district magistrate.

Casting doubt on the police’s handling of the situation, she said, “When the family is speaking to the police, they are saying one thing and to the CBI, a different thing. Check these cases seriously, why else is the IC [inspector-in-charge] posted there?”

A total of six individuals, including the son of a local TMC leader, have been arrested in connection with the case.

(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)


Also Read: Nadia minor was ‘gangraped’ at TMC leader’s son’s party by at least 3 men, finds CBI probe


 

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