The political situation in West Bengal’s Basirhat district continued to remain tense on Sunday where the warring parties - BJP and TMC - continued to blame each other for violence in Sandeshkhali, even as bodies of three persons were recovered and several others remained 'missing'.
According to reports, the BJP tried to take the bodies of two of its supporters to Kolkata from Basirhat in North 24 Parganas district, but the party leaders were stopped by police, leading to a heated exchange of words between the two sides. The BJP leadership later decided to take the bodies to the village of the two slain party workers. Their last rites were performed at their village at night.
On Wednesday, the BJP will march to the Kolkata Police headquarters of Lalbazar to protest against the violence in Sandeshkhali, the party sources said.
In an advisory to the West Bengal government, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs expressed "deep concern" over the continuing violence and asked it to maintain law and order. Both the state government and the ruling TMC criticised the Centre for the advisory.
Later in the night, iterating that the law and order situation was "under control", West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee government told the centre that "firm and appropriate actions" were initiated in case of a few stray post-poll clashes in the state.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on Sunday said he will be meeting Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday to congratulate him on his reelection, dismissing media reports that he would brief the prime minister on the post-poll situation in the state.
The deaths that took place on Saturday
Chief Medical Officer of Basirhat D Mukherjee said bodies of three persons were brought to Basirhat Hospital on Saturday night. The bodies have been identified as that of Sukanta Mondal, Pradip Mondal and Kayoom Mollah.
While Sukanta and Pradip were BJP supporters, TMC leaders said Kayoom was an active worker of their party.
State BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu on Saturday said three party workers -- Sukanta Mondal, Pradip Mondal and Shankar Mondal -- were shot dead, while state minister Jyotipriyo Mallick maintained that TMC worker Kayoom Mollah was killed in the clash. Shankar Mondal and Debdas Mondal of Bhangipara village are missing, local BJP leaders claimed.
Police and the district administration have been tight-lipped about the incident and have not made any statement on the number of deaths, reported PTI.
A huge contingent of police is posted at Bhangipara village, which is under the Nyajat Police Station limits, where the clashes took place on Saturday evening during a TMC rally. Internet services have also been suspended at Nyajat.
The Sandeshkhali violence
The BJP on Sunday wanted to take the bodies of two slain workers to the party state headquarters in Kolkata after the postmortem examination, but the police stopped the hearses at Minakha by blocking the state highway. An earlier attempt of the police at Malancha to stop the party failed as the BJP workers forced their way through.
"The families have given their consent (to take the bodies). The police cannot stop us like this," state BJP president Dilip Ghosh, who was accompanying the hearses, said. "The police did not act when our people were attacked and killed and now they are not allowing us to take the bodies of our party workers," he said.
Amid the altercation between the policemen and BJP leaders, party workers threatened to perform the last rites of the deceased men on the road and started to arrange a pyre. However, it finally didn't happen.
Union Home Ministry's issues advisory
In the advisory, the Home Ministry asked the state government to maintain law and order, peace and public tranquillity. "The unabated violence over the past weeks appears to be a failure on the part of the law enforcement machinery of the state to maintain the rule of law and inspire confidence among people," the advisory said.
Bengal government's response to advisory
Stating that there were a few "stray post-poll clashes" in West Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee government on Sunday claimed that situation in the state was "under control" in a letter to the Centre, which had issued an advisory after four people died in violence between workers of the Trinamool Congress and the BJP.
State Chief Secretary Malay Kumar De wrote that "firm and appropriate actions" were initiated in all cases of violence without any delay. "There have been a few stray post-poll clashes in the state perpetrated by some anti-social elements, the law enforcement authorities have been taking firm and appropriate actions in all such cases without any delay," De wrote in the letter to the Union Home Ministry.
(With inputs from agencies)