Kolkata, Sept 04: The main opposition Trinamool Congress and its ally BJP today criticised the Left Front government for its alleged failure in dealing with 'gangsters and mafias' and said the hostage drama at a Suri hospital amply proved that there was no worthwhile law and order in West Bengal. Senior Trinamool leader and leader of opposition in state legislature Pankaj Banerjee said the situation had come to such a pass that even "people in hospitals are not safe here."

He said that the state's situation was turning similar to the one witnessed in Jammu and Kashmir.

BJP's state unit chief Tathagata Roy said, "the sad state of law and order in West Bengal was reflected in the Suri incident."
"The West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee once remarked the state is an oasis of peace. I am quite sure Buddhadev is eating his words now," Roy said.

The government has failed to rein in gangsters and mafias who are having a free run in the state, the two leaders alleged.

The tense hostage drama at a government hospital in Suri ended this morning with the gunman, who held seven persons including patients in the male ward hostage since last night, surrendering after killing one.
Bureau Report