West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Tuesday visited Chopra in Bengal's Uttar Dinajpur district and spoke with the family members of the four children who were killed after a mound of soil caved in during a drain expansion near the India-Bangladesh border.
Bose took a train to Kishanganj on Monday night. He then travelled by road to Chopra, according to a PTI report. Upon arrival at Islampur Circuit House, he met the families of the four children.
While speaking to ANI, West Bengal Minister Md Ghulam Rabbani expressed hope that the governor would play an impartial role and ensure justice for the families of the deceased. "A 12-member delegation visited Raj Bhavan and requested the Governor to come here and he agreed. We are happy and we welcome him here. We hope that he will play an impartial role and ensure justice to the families of the deceased," he told ANI.
The incident occurred on February 12 when the children, aged between 5 and 12, were buried alive under a mound of soil. This occurred while an excavator was digging a trench in Chetanagach village of Chopra block. The Trinamool Congress claimed that the construction work was illegally carried out by the Border Security Force (BSF).
TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held the BSF responsible for the incident, alleging negligence that led to the deaths of the four minors. A team of TMC leaders earlier met Bose at the Raj Bhavan and demanded an investigation into the incident. They also urged the Governor to visit Chopra.
Meanwhile, TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee questioned Bose's 'priorities' as he visited Sandeshkhali “within 24 hours after the BJP asked him to but could not find time to visit North Dinajpur's Chopra”, where four children were allegedly found dead in a ditch near a construction site.