Trinamool delegation visits violence-hit Bhatpara

An eight-member Trinamool Legislature Party delegation visited violence-hit Bhatpara in West Bengal on Friday, more than a week after two persons were allegedly killed in police firing during a political clash.

Senior Trinamool Congress leaders, including state Food Minister Jyotipriyo Mullick, Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, Fire Minister Sujit Bose, Science and Technology Minister Bratya Basu and party MLAs Partha Bhowmick, Nirmal Ghosh reached Bhatpara on Friday afternoon and talked to the locals.

"People here are not well. Many areas have seen constant bombings. We are taking a stock of the situation. We will talk to the Police Commissioner," Hakim said.

"We want peace to be reinstated in the area. Strict action will be taken against those who are hurling bombs at innocent people and creating unrest in the area," Bose said.

A three-member central delegation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had visited the spot and met the families of the deceased last week.

A team of intellectuals also rallied in Kankinara-Bhatpara area on Thursday and urged the locals to reinstate peace.

Bhatpara and its adjoining Kankinara, Jagaddal, Naihati area under the Barrackpore parliamentary constituency have been on the boil since the general election results were declared on May 23.

Former Trinamool MLA from Bhatpara Arjun Singh, who defected to the BJP just before the 2019 polls, won the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat while his son Pawan Singh won the Assembly by-election from Bhatpara.

A fresh flare-up on June 20 left two persons dead and at least four others injured when the police opened fire, prompting the administration to impose prohibitory orders in the affected areas. IANS