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Tea garden leader`s house torched, 19 killed
Siliguri, Nov 06: Enraged tea garden workers today hacked to death 19 people, including two women, and later burnt them at the house of a former CITU leader following a dispute over recruitment of three outsiders at a tea estate in West Bengal`s Jalpaiguri district.
Siliguri, Nov 06: Enraged tea garden workers today hacked to death 19 people, including two women, and later burnt them at the house of a former CITU leader following a dispute over recruitment of three outsiders at a tea estate in West Bengal`s Jalpaiguri district.
IGP (law and order) Chayan Mukherjee, who had earlier said that 21 persons had been killed, said that the confusion over the death figure arose because the bodies had been charred and badly mutilated.
The incident occurred in the Falakata police station area in Jalpaiguri district bordering Cooch Behar at around 7.30 am, he said. Nearly 60 people went to the residence of former CITU leader Tarakeswar Lohar, demanding to know why locals were not being recruited to the posts of `babus` (clerks) of the Dalgaon tea estate.
The situation turned ugly when shots were fired at the crowd from Lohar`s residence, injuring tea garden worker Sonik Kachhua.
This infuriated the mob which entered Lohar`s house and hacked the people inside and later set the house on fire, killing all, Mukherjee said.
Lohar, however, managed to escape, the IGP said, adding that his wife and three children were also safe as they had gone to school.
IGP North Bengal Bhupinder Singh, who was present at the site of the incident, also confirmed that Lohar escaped and was arrested and questioned to ascertain the actual reason behind the incident.
"Once we have interrogated Lohar, identification of the culprits will be easier," Mukherjee said.
The police have arrested 106 people, including 25 women, allegedly involved in the massacre.
The IGP, North Bengal, said a loaded revolver and 72 choppers were seized from Lohar`s residence.
Singh said that trouble had been brewing for some time after three `garden babus` (clerks), who were outsiders, were recruited.
The contention of the anti-Lohar camp was that there were educated youth in the garden who could be appointed, he said.
Commenting on the incident, agriculture minister and forward block leader Kamal Guha said that the incident was the fallout of a feud between two factions of the CITU and a manifestation of the explosive situation prevailing in tea gardens of North Bengal.
"Tarakeswar Lohar had been recently removed from the post of union secretary by the CITU leadership. Those killed were in his house to ensure his security. The incident is a manifestation of the explosive situation in the tea garden," he said.
Guha, elected to the assembly from Dinhata in North Bengal, said that he would soon discuss the situation at the tea gardens with Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee.
While describing the incident as `terrible,` the Chief Minister, however, said that he was not in a position to confirm whether it was a fall-out of CITU`s internal feud. "I do not have the details. I will be able to tell you in a couple of days." Bureau Report
The incident occurred in the Falakata police station area in Jalpaiguri district bordering Cooch Behar at around 7.30 am, he said. Nearly 60 people went to the residence of former CITU leader Tarakeswar Lohar, demanding to know why locals were not being recruited to the posts of `babus` (clerks) of the Dalgaon tea estate.
The situation turned ugly when shots were fired at the crowd from Lohar`s residence, injuring tea garden worker Sonik Kachhua.
This infuriated the mob which entered Lohar`s house and hacked the people inside and later set the house on fire, killing all, Mukherjee said.
Lohar, however, managed to escape, the IGP said, adding that his wife and three children were also safe as they had gone to school.
IGP North Bengal Bhupinder Singh, who was present at the site of the incident, also confirmed that Lohar escaped and was arrested and questioned to ascertain the actual reason behind the incident.
"Once we have interrogated Lohar, identification of the culprits will be easier," Mukherjee said.
The police have arrested 106 people, including 25 women, allegedly involved in the massacre.
The IGP, North Bengal, said a loaded revolver and 72 choppers were seized from Lohar`s residence.
Singh said that trouble had been brewing for some time after three `garden babus` (clerks), who were outsiders, were recruited.
The contention of the anti-Lohar camp was that there were educated youth in the garden who could be appointed, he said.
Commenting on the incident, agriculture minister and forward block leader Kamal Guha said that the incident was the fallout of a feud between two factions of the CITU and a manifestation of the explosive situation prevailing in tea gardens of North Bengal.
"Tarakeswar Lohar had been recently removed from the post of union secretary by the CITU leadership. Those killed were in his house to ensure his security. The incident is a manifestation of the explosive situation in the tea garden," he said.
Guha, elected to the assembly from Dinhata in North Bengal, said that he would soon discuss the situation at the tea gardens with Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee.
While describing the incident as `terrible,` the Chief Minister, however, said that he was not in a position to confirm whether it was a fall-out of CITU`s internal feud. "I do not have the details. I will be able to tell you in a couple of days." Bureau Report