The Election Commission of India’s diktat not to allow any political leader in Cooch Behar’s Sitalkuchi, where five young men were killed during Saturday’s voting, could not stop Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee from reaching out to the family members of the deceased.
“I will see that justice is delivered,” Mamata is understood to have told them during a video conference with the grieving families in the Cooch Behar village from her hotel in Siliguri.
According to Trinamul sources, the families of the victims told the chief minister that those killed were waiting in the queue outside the booth to cast their vote when they fell to the bullets. Some of them were day-labourers who had come to the village to cast their votes.
The TMC chief also spoke to the brother of one of the deceased during the video call, held in the midst of addresing the media. She promised all help to the bereaved family.
The man, on his part, was heard saying that the jawans had opened fire on the voters. "He (one of the four killed in firing) was standing in a queue when the jawans opened fire. His wife is pregnant. They also have a three-year-old child. Our parents are shocked and devastated," the man told the CM.
Mamata asked a local TMC leader, who made arrangements for the video chat from Sitalkuchi, to send her a copy of the FIR filed in connection with the incident.
Four villagers of Sitalkuchi --- Nur Alam Mian (20), Maniruzzaman Mian (28), Samiul Haq (21) and Hamidul Mian (31) --- fell to bullets of the central forces. All have been identified as Trinamul supporters. The fifth person who died was Anand Burman (18), killed during clashes between Trinamul and BJP supporters on Saturday. The police have said that the four persons died on Saturday when CISF personnel opened fire allegedly after coming under attack from locals, who "attempted to snatch their rifles".
"I will be addressing election meetings today (Sunday), but with a heavy heart. The episode keeps haunting me," the CM said, adding that party workers will stage protests against the incident across the state.
Describing the incident of firing in Cooch Behar as a "genocide", Mamata said the Election Commission of India (ECI) had restricted entry of politicians in the district for 72 hours as it seeks to "suppress facts". She told the media the the central forces "sprayed bullets aiming at the torso of the victims" at Sitalkuchi while the fourth phase of polling was underway.
"There was genocide at Sitalkuchi. I would like to visit Sitalkuchi by April 14. The EC is trying to suppress facts by restricting entry in Cooch Behar. We have an incompetent home minister and an incompetent central government," Mamata said.
She said the CISF "doesn't know" how to handle situations. "Since the first phase of elections, I had been saying that a section of the central forces are committing atrocities on people. I had flagged the issue in Nandigram, but none paid attention to my words," she stated.
Mamata, who was campaigning in South Bengal left for Siliguri on Saturday evening, announcing her intent to visit the grief-stricken families. Some hours later, the ECI issued orders barring politicians from the trouble spot.
Mamata’s decision to visit Sitalkuchi was a throwback to her days in the Opposition when she would rush to meet families of victims of natural disasters, police excesses at the behest of her political rivals. This time, too, she did not allow the EC order could not come in the way of reaching out to the families of those killed on Saturday.
“The EC should rename MCC (Model Code of Conduct) as Modi Code of Conduct! The BJP can use all its might but NOTHING in this world can stop me from being with my people & sharing their pain. They can restrict me from visiting my brothers & sisters in Cooch Behar for 3 days but I WILL be there on the 4th day,” Mamata tweeted Sunday morning.