2022 Birbhum violence

Last updated

2022 Birbhum violence
West Bengal relief map.svg
Red pog.svg
2022 Birbhum violence (West Bengal)
India relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
2022 Birbhum violence (India)
LocationBagtui, Birbhum district, West Bengal, India
Coordinates 24°09′52″N87°47′29″E / 24.16436500380788°N 87.7913638172454°E / 24.16436500380788; 87.7913638172454
DateMarch 21, 2022 (2022-03-21)
21:00 (IST (UTC+05:30))
Attack type
 mass murder, political violence, arson attack
Deaths9 Muslims ()
Victims1.Jahanara Bibi (Doli), 38;

2.Lili Khatun, 18; 3.Sheli Bibi, 32; 4.Nurnehar Bibi, 52; 5.Rupali Bibi, 39; 6.Kazi Sajidur Rahaman, 22; 7.Tuli Khatun, 7; 8. Mina Bibi, 40

Contents

https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/birbhum-eight-charred-to-death-in-suspected-retaliation-to-tmc-leaders-murder/cid/1857148
MotiveRevenge for killing of local Trinamool leader
AccusedLalan sheikh, Later died in CBI custody https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/birbhum-violence-key-accused-ends-life-in-cbi-custody-kin-allege-murder-8321023/

The 2022 Birbhum violence, also called the Bogtui massacre, happened in the village of Baktai (Bagtui, Bogtui) in Rampurhat, Birbhum, India in the aftermath of the death of Trinamool deputy chief Bhadu Sheikh. At least four houses were set on fire. 10 people were reported killed. [1]

Background

During the evening of 21 March 2022. Bhadu Sheikh, the upapradhan (deputy leader) of Barshal gram panchayat (village council), was attacked by a group of men, who threw a homemade bomb at him, resulting in heavy injury. He was taken to the local health clinic and later the Rampurhat hospital where he was declared dead. [2]

Casualties

At least ten houses were set on fire. 8 dead bodies were found, six women and two children. [3] Seven burned bodies were recovered from one house alone. One person who had been injured later died of burn injuries at a hospital in Birbhum.[ citation needed ]

Investigation

Following the incident, Government of West Bengal has created SIT under ADG CID Gyanwant Singh, DIG (Western Range) Sanjay Singh and DIG CID (Operations) Miraj Khalid to investigate the incident. State director general of police Manoj Malviya is also enacted in this case. [2]

On 12 December, the CBI has officially announced the death in custody of the main accused perpetrator, Lalon Sheikh, by suicide (hanging) at their camp in Rampurhat. [4]

Reactions

The ruling party Trinamool Congress alleged that the "incident was a part of a greater conspiracy to tarnish the image of the State and the State government". Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sent Minister Firhad Hakim and local MLA and deputy Speaker Ashish Banerjee to the trouble spot.

Opposition parties like CPI(M), BJP and Congress protested against the murder. CPI(M) state secretary Mohammad Salim described the SIT set up by the government as "suppression of investigation and truth". [5] He also said that the incident in Rampurhat was linked to the victory of the sole CPM councillor from Ward 17 in the Rampurhat municipality which went to polls in February 2022. In response to the incident and while obstructed from raising the issue to Legislative Assembly, BJP legislators staged a walkout on the floor of the House. [2] BJP MLAs requested the Governor to urge the Centre to intervene here and invoke either Article 365 or 355 and consider a NIA probe into the matter. [5] Bengal Congress Unit Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote to the President of India requesting him to invoke Article 355 of the Indian Constitution “in view of the deteriorating law & order situation in West Bengal" and has called Mamata Banerjee-led TMC rule as "Danav Raj"(Monster Rule). [6]

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took suo motu cognisance of the violence and has directed the state government to submit detailed report regarding the violence in four weeks. [7]

Governor of West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankar condemned the killings. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinamool Congress</span> Political party in India

The All India Trinamool Congress is an Indian political party that is mainly influential in the state of West Bengal. It was founded by Mamata Banerjee on 1 January 1998 as a breakaway faction from the Indian National Congress and rapidly rose to prominence in the politics of West Bengal under her leadership. Presently, it is ruling the state of West Bengal beside being the third-largest party in India in terms of number of MPs just after the BJP and INC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mamata Banerjee</span> Chief Minister of West Bengal, India

Mamata Banerjee is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal since 20 May 2011, the first woman to hold the office. Having served multiple times as a Union Cabinet Minister, Mamata Banerjee became the Chief Minister of West Bengal for the first time in 2011. She founded the All India Trinamool Congress in 1998 after separating from the Indian National Congress, and became its second chairperson later in 2001. She often refers to herself as Didi.

Politics in West Bengal is dominated by the following major political parties: the All India Trinamool Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Bharatiya Janata Party, the National People's Party and the Indian National Congress. For many decades, the state underwent gruesome and terrible political violence. Since the 2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, it has been governed by the Trinamool Congress party. Previously, it was ruled by Left Front led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for over three decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nandigram violence</span> 2007 land acquisition protests in West Bengal, India

Nandigram Violence refers to the violence in Nandigram, West Bengal, India, in 2007 due to the land acquisition for a project taken up by the CPI(M)-led Government of West Bengal to create a chemical hub, a type of special economic zone (SEZ). The policy led to an emergency in the region, and 14 people died in a police shooting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mukul Roy</span> Indian politician

Mukul Roy is an Indian politician from West Bengal. He has also served as a Minister of State in the Shipping Ministry and later Ministry of Railways during the second UPA government. Before the creation of Trinamool Congress, he was a member of Indian National Congress. Between 2017 and 2021, Roy left Trinamool Congress to join Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2021, he left BJP and joined TMC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suvendu Adhikari</span> Indian politician (born 1970)

Suvendu Adhikari is an Indian politician from Bharatiya Janata Party who is the current Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly since 2021 and a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from Nandigram Assembly constituency since 2021 and from Contai South from 2006 to 2009.

Rampurhat Assembly constituency is an assembly constituency in Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election</span> Indian state election

Assembly election was held in Indian state of West Bengal in 2011 to elect the members of West Bengal Legislative Assembly as the term of the incumbent government was about to expire naturally. The election was held in six phases between 18 April and 10 May 2011 for all the 294 seats of the Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abhishek Banerjee (politician)</span> Indian politician

Abhishek Banerjee is an Indian Politician is a member of the All India Trinamool Congress and he is currently serving as a Member of Parliament, Diamond Harbour, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal since 2014. Banerjee has also been the President of Trinamool Youth Congress since 2011, the youth wing of the Trinamool Congress, currently in power in West Bengal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election</span> State legislative assembly election

Legislative Assembly elections were held in 2016 for 294 seats of the Vidhan Sabha in the Indian state of West Bengal. The All India Trinamool Congress under Mamata Banerjee won 211 seats, and thus was re-elected with an enhanced majority. Like in the 2011 election, the poll was held in six phases, with the first phase divided into two days. The first phase was held in Naxalite-Maoist affected red corridor areas with two polling dates: 4 April and 11 April. The other phases were held on 17, 21, 25, 30 April and 5 May. The result of the election was declared on 19 May.

On 13 and 14 December 2016, Rioters attacked and looted shops and houses of the local and set them on fire in Dhulagarh in Howrah district of West Bengal following an altercation on 12 December 2016 between processionists and local residents who were observing religious rituals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arjun Singh (West Bengal politician)</span> Indian politician (born 1962)

Arjun Singh is an Indian politician and a member of parliament in the 17th Lok Sabha from Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal. He contested the 2019 Indian general election as a BJP candidate and won against TMC candidate Dinesh Trivedi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election</span> Indian state election

The 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election was the 17th quinquennial legislative election held in West Bengal, to elect all 294 members of West Bengal Legislative Assembly. This electoral process of 292 seats unfolded between 27 March to 29 April 2021, taking place in eight phases. Voting for the two remaining constituencies was delayed to 30 September 2021.

Violence occurred in the aftermath of the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, which the ruling Trinamool Congress won for a third consecutive term. The BJP activists, supporters and voters were the chief victims of the violence carried out by Trinamool-backed goons and party cadres.

The 2007-2008 Nandigram violence was one of the major incidents which saw an alleged involvement of Maoists or more precisely the cadres, armed activists and guerrillas of Communist Party of India (Maoist). Trouble started after the Government of West Bengal led by Left front tried to acquire the agricultural land in Nandigram to allow Indonesia's Salem group to set up a hub for chemical industries. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then chief minister of West Bengal, accused the Maoists for the violence during the Nandigram. Afterwards, they made a report that was submitted to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Afterwards in 2014, CPI (Maoists) confirmed that they were active during the Nandigram protests and termed it as "revolutionary people’s agitation".

On 4 April 2022, a 14-year-old girl was raped in Hanskhali of Nadia district, West Bengal, India. The main accused are Brojogopali Gayali and his friends. Notably they are associated with TMC.

Anubrata Mondal, also known as Kesto Mondal, is an Indian politician, who belongs to All India Trinamool Congress. He is known to be a close aide of Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee. He is currently serving as President of Birbhum District Trinamool Congress after getting bail for cattle case from CBI Cental Beraeu of Investigation and ED Enforcement Directorate in lack of evidence from the jail of Tihar Delhi.. NIA also tried to nab him on Nation treasure(Coal, Sand etc..) smuggling but failed. Due to this his daughter Sukanya Mondal had also spent 16 months in Tihar but nothing proven and been bailed out.

Humayun Kabir is an Indian politician and former police officer from West Bengal, who is serving as member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly from Debra constituency since 2021. A member of Trinamool Congress, he has also served as cabinet minister of state under Third Banerjee ministry, from 2021 to 2022.

On 5 January 2024, a team of Enforcement Directorate officers visited the village of Sandeshkhali in West Bengal, India, to interrogate a local Trinamool Congress leader, Sheikh Shahjahan, about his involvement with the corruption scandal of the politician Jyotipriya Mallick. Mallick, a former minister with the Trinamool Congress, pled guilty for embezzling multiple crores from food rationing funds in October 2023, implicating Shahjahan. In January 2024, the ED investigated additional allegations of sexual assault and improper land acquisition against Shahjahan. In the resulting altercation, three ED officers were injured by local supporters of Shahjahan.

West Bengal cow smuggling scam is an ongoing Cattle theft in India scam going on from August 2022. The scam is currently investigated by Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation and National Investigation Agency jointly. The scam was revealed, following the arrest of prominent and senior leader of Trinamool Congress and president of Birbhum district Trinamool Congress, Anubrata Mondal, who is also known to be a close aide of the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee by the agencies.

References

  1. ↑ "Toll in Bengal's Birbhum massacre rises to 10; woman dies in hospital". Hindustan Times. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "Trinamul leader's murder in Birbhum sparks violence, arson". www.telegraphindia.com.
  3. ↑ Singh, Shiv Sahay (22 March 2022). "Six women, two children burnt to death in Bengal's Birbhum after Trinamool leader's murder" – via www.thehindu.com.
  4. ↑ Gupta, Saurav (13 December 2022). "Bengal Violence Accused Allegedly Dies By Suicide In CBI Custody". ndtv.com. NDTV News. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  5. 1 2 Chattopadhyay, Suhrid Sankar. "Six women and two children burnt to death in violence in Bengal's Birbhum district following the killing of a panchayat deputy pradhan". Frontline.
  6. ↑ ""Danav Raj": Congress Leader Slams Mamata Banerjee Over Bengal Killings". NDTV.com. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  7. ↑ R, Senjo M. "NHRC notice to WB govt, DGP over Birbhum killings; seeks report in 4 weeks". Rediff. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  8. ↑ "Birbhum killings: West Bengal Governor slams CM for 'diversionary tactics', says attempts being made to shield guilty". The Economic Times. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.