West Bengal police arrested former Asansol mayor and BJP Leader Jitendra Tiwari from Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, reported News agency ANI. The Asansol Durgapur Commissionerate arrested Tiwari in a case pertaining to a stampede that caused the death of three people during a blanket distribution program on December 14, 2022.
Earlier, in December 2022, Police arrested around six individuals in connection with the case, reported The Telegraph.
The police had initiated a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against Tiwari and his wife Chaitali Tiwari. The case was related to the stampede that took place during the blanket distribution event in Asansol, according to a report by The Telegraph.
While commenting on the matter, BJP West Bengal President Sukanta Majumdar said, “This is a political stunt, Mamata Banerjee’s police that sold teachers’ jobs & collected crores of rupees couldn’t arrest those accused in this scam. Bengal police are going to Uttar Pradesh, they should see their state,” as tweeted by ANI.
He also said, “Three people died, and the family that came to get a blanket suddenly got so rich they're hiring lawyers in the high court & supreme court. This is a political conspiracy, Mamata Banerjee is scared that she’s losing people's support.”
Most of the arrested leaders in connection with the case are from BJP in West Bengal. And all six arrested persons so far by the police face charges related to culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the incident.
Jitendra Teiwari's wife is a councillor of ward number 27 in Asansol and the distribution of blankets occurred in her ward.
The Asansol North police had registered the case against Tiwari, his wife and six others on the basis of a complaint filed by Sukhen Bauri. Bauri is the son of Jhali Bauri, an individual who lost his life in the stampede.
Sukhen, as quoted by The Telegraph, said, "My mother was called by the organisers to collect one blanket. She died in the stampede because of the negligence of the organisers. They are responsible for my mother’s untimely death and I want them to be punished."
Sukhen lodged the complaint hours after accepting a cheque for Rs 2 lakhs as compensation from the government in West Bengal.
The state government had given an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased in the stampede. And the injured ones got a compensation of Rs 50,000 each from the government.
Last year, the Asansol-Durgapur police commissioner Sudheer Kumar Neelakantam had said that the police started a specific case against the organisers of the event after receiving a complaint from one of the victims’ sons.
Since then, an investigation is underway to find out the main culprits.