Ananda Barman, a resident of Baladanga village of Cooch Behar district, thanks his stars for being saved himself from a marauding mob of Muslims on May 2 night by the skin of teeth. But he sustained severe injuries on his head and torso in the murderous assault. According to him, they had come to eliminate his family members who were supporters of BJP. His father and other relatives had to flee their villages.

 

Barman says the murderous mob of youths was armed with axes, machetes and other weapons. He said they dragged people out of their homes, women were molested, raped, children were knocked down, brutally attacked and men murdered.

 

 

After Trinamool Congress registered a spectacular victory in the Assembly elections, goons let loose by party leaders launched an onslaught torching houses of members of rival political parties and their homes. More than 20 people have lost their lives to the political violence engineered by Trinamool goons. Unabated violence prompted the Union Home Ministry and State Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar to seek reports. The governor summoned the State’s director general of police. “Perturbed and worried at several reports of violence, arson and killings from various parts of state. Party offices, houses & shops being attacked. Situation alarming. Prompt action called for @HomeBengal @WBPolice @CPKolkata Have conferred @MamataOfficial for urgent action,” Dhankhar tweeted.

 

 

 

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee continues to remain in denial. She blames BJP for the violence.

 

The murderous Trinamool goons did not spare even the Central minister, Shri V Muraleedharan, whose convoy was attacked in the Panchkhudi area of West Midnapore on May 6. The window panes of his car were broken in the attack, though he escaped unhurt. However, his personal staff sustained injuries in the attack.

 

 

 

Although State police personnel were escorting the Central minister, they remained silent spectators when goons mounted an audacious attack on the convoy. The State police officials were busy turning the murders into cases of suicides. Two young BJP supporters, Manoj Mandal, 18, and Chaitanya Mandal, 17, residents of the Muslim-majority Malda district, were allegedly murdered and hang from a tree. The local police officials are busy turning this case into a suicide case. Malda SP Alok Rajoria came up with a hilarious, rather cruel conclusion. According to him, the family of the victims has not named anyone as responsible for the deaths. He says the police the police have traced social media posts of the 17-year-old boy and found that he was going through “some trouble”. So, the boys decided to end their lives in a suicide pact by hanging using a single rope. “Every political murder according to WB police is either a suicide or fake. Only in Bengal, people commit suicide by hanging themselves while their legs are folded and feet touching the ground,” said BJP leader Amit Malaviya.

 

 

Some videos emerging from trouble spots of West Bengal show the savagery of Trinamool goons who can give Islamic State radicals a run for their money in brutality. “Islamic State brutality pales in comparison. Hindu temples are attacked; women are molested. They give threats openly that they would rape the mothers and sisters of Hindus. Mamata is presiding over another Direct Action,” said a journalist who doesn’t want to be identified.

 

 

 

There is fear everywhere, except in Trinamool areas. A fact-finding team of the National Commission for Women, which visited West Bengal to investigate post-poll violence, has expressed concern over the attacks on women and children. The Commission alleged that the State machinery has failed to provide security or take steps to stem violence. The Commission also visited people who have fled their villages fearing for their lives.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, taking note of the spiraling violence in the State, the Calcutta High Court on May 7 set up a five-judge bench to hear a public interest petition on post-poll violence and asked the Mamata Banerjee Government to file a report “specifying the areas where violence has taken place and steps taken to prevent or control it.” One of the petitioners argued that there was an attempt to target one section of the society and trigger communal riots in the State.

 

 

Thousands of people violence-hit areas of Bengal fled to nearby States of Assam and Odisha. Meghu Das along with his family members and neighbours took refuge in Assam’s Dhubri district. Das belongs to Jhaukuti village under Tufanganj constituency in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district.

 

 

 

“They tried to kill me, saying I voted for the BJP and hence it’s time for revenge. It’s an ‘eye for an eye’ for them. I somehow managed to save myself and cross over to Assam. At present, I am along with 250 people like me at a clubhouse at Rangpagli village of Dhubri. I am really scared and I don’t know where and how I will perform the death rituals of my mother,” said Das.

 

 

 

On May 5, Haran Adhikari was hacked to death by Trinamool goons. According to Shankar, Haran’s brother, Trinamool leaders were aware that we are supporters of BJP. “In our locality, most of the people support BJP. Though many are silent, we are active in RSS and the BJP. That is why we have been attacked several times. Muslims are in majority in nearby localities and they work for the Trinamool.”

 

 

 

Shankar said his family was attacked earlier too. The nearby localities are Muslim-dominated. He said come what may, he and his family members will not leave BJP. Shankar said the family got wind of Haran’s condition after Trinamool goons left. He was lying in a pool of blood with neck slit. The villagers took him to hospital but he was declared brought dead.

 

Taking suo motu cognizance, the National Human Rights Commission has decided to send a team to investigate the post-poll violence. “The political workers allegedly clashed with each other, party offices were torched down and some homes were ransacked and valuables also looted. District Administration and local law and order enforcement agencies appear not to have acted to stop such violation of human rights of the affected persons,” the NHRC statement said.