Midnapore (WB): Trinamool Congress chief
Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said she would give a report to Centre
about the `brutal` police lathicharge injuring several scribes
and party workers in West Midnapore while rubbishing her
party`s alleged links with Maoists.
Claiming that allegations about Maoist links of two
arrested Trinamool men from the TC-run relief camp in West
Midnapore was false, Banerjee told reporters here that "the
(police) operation has been captured on video, evidences
cannot lie."
"If the two arrested Trinamool men had Maoist links then
why the journalists were not allowed free movement to cover
the incident and instead brutally lathicharged by the police.
This was aimed to suppress the real truth," Banerjee said
after visiting the injured at the Midnapore Medical College
and Hospital.
"If there are Maoists, you take action. But in the name of
drive against Maoists, the CPI(M) did not allow the scribes to
move freely," the Railway minister claimed alleging that the
operation was led by CPI(M)`s red card holder police
officials.
"It is nothing but a tall story that two Trinamool
Congress men had been arrested from the relief camp. It is
totally wrong," Banerjee said.
Alleging some people among today`s raid party donned CRPF
fatigue, Banerjee said "why they have misused the name of
CRPF if the paramilitary force was not part of the
operations."
Dubbing the incident of police lathicharge as "a criminal
offence," Banerjee claimed she got `clarifications` from the
IG, CRPF and the Union Home Ministry.
She said the camp had been opened there by the Trinamool
to shelter women who had been tortured by CPI-M `rowdies`.
"Led by the DSP (operations) in West Midnapore district,
state police personnel dragged women inmates in the relief
camp by their hair. One of my party worker Mangal Hembrom
received bullet injuries," Banerjee had earlier said in
Kolkata.
"The CPI-M has politicised the police administration..
The situation is very serious and the administration has
`enforced` an undeclared curfew in the entire Midnapore town,"
she alleged.
She said senior party leader and Union minister of state
Mukul Roy has already apprised the Centre about the incident.
On West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee
expressing regret about the police lathicharge on
mediapersons, Banerjee said the CM gave the statement at
the intervention of Union Home Ministry.
Trinamool will observe black day throughout Bengal
tomorrow with party activists wearing black badges and taking
out rallies to protest police lathicharge and `unprovoked`
ransacking of TC relief camp.
Describing the injury of some of the mediapersons, as
serious, Banerjee said if necessary they would be brought to
Kolkata for treatment.
Banerjee later left for Kolkata after interacting with
her party leaders.
PTI
