Bhangar violence: Mamata declares Rs 2 lakh aid to victims
Villagers again blocked Haroa-Rajarhat Road to deny entry to police and goons.
Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government will provide a compensation of around Rs 2 lakh to the family of the two persons killed in a clash while opposing construction of a power grid sub-station in Bhangar area of South 24 Parganas district.
The area remained peaceful on Thursday, although anger against both police and TMC strongman Arabul Islam was still palpable among residents of Khamarait, Macchibhanga, Paddupukur, Natunhat and Shyamnagar even as, people seemed eager for restoration of peace.
Villagers again blocked Haroa-Rajarhat Road to deny entry to police and goons, but decided to lift the blockade as it caused inconvenience to others.
“We had decided to lift the blockade from today but last night again a gang of miscreants armed with bombs and guns stormed into our villages. They threatened us of dire consequences if we continued our opposition to the power grid,” one Muzzamil Molla said, adding that the gang enjoyed the patronage of Arabul who is the head of TMC-controlled panchayat samiti.
The villagers are angry with minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah who had not been allowed to enter Bhangar despite being the area representative in the Assembly. “It was Arabul and his aides who had coerced us into selling our lands for the power grid,” a local alleged.
Earlier in the day, the last rites of the two victims — Mofizul Ali Khan and Alamgir Molla — was performed and the funeral procession remained peaceful. The villagers demanded a CBI inquiry.
“The police is insisting it had not opened fire. But no one can deny that two men were shot dead. We will urge the chief minister to order a CBI probe,” Mofizul’s father Shukur Ali Khan said.
Students appeared to be the worst-affected as attendance in all 18 schools in the villages remained nil for the third day. Although some teachers turned up, schools remained closed. “ adhyamik examination is close by. The violent upheaval has badly affected the students who are going to sit for the examination,” a teacher said.