BJP leader for 'UP model' to tackle crime in Bengal

Referring to Uttar Pradesh, where a number of criminals have reportedly been eliminated in a series of encounters in recent months, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader on Monday said if voted to power, they would apply the "UP model" in West Bengal to maintain law and order.

"No miscreants will be spared. Either they have to be arrested or killed in encounters. There is no other way. The criminals should not be allowed to flee to Bangladesh or elsewhere after committing crime," state BJP General Secretary Sayantan Basu said at Basirhat in North 24 Parganas district.

"We will apply the UP model in West Bengal to maintain law and order," said Basu who lost the election to the Basirhat parliamentary constituency to Nusrat Jahan of the Trinamool Congress.

"Those who have been extorting from people of Bengal must come out and say that they will not indulge in extortion and hooliganism. We will urge the police to take necessary action against those who will not rectify themselves. If needed encounter them, but do not spare hooligans," Basu said during a protest demonstration in Bankura.

Meanwhile, another Bengal BJP leader Raju Banerjee urged the police to take action against the "corrupts and extortionists" and "encounter" them if needed.IANS