Bharatiya Janata Party-Trinamul Congress clash in Cooch Behar at Sahebganj in Dinhata II block

 Cop reminder to BSF on federalism

Cooch Behar BJP MP Central minister Nisith Pramanik with a BJP supporter in Sahebganj near Dinhata BDO office ll on Saturday: Main Uddin Chisti

TT Bureau , Coochbehar/Malda , 18.06.23:  A senior officer of the state police on Saturday afternoon reminded a BSF contingent, which rushed to Sahebganj in Dinhata II block following an altercation between supporters of the Trinamul and the BJP, that law-and-order was a state subject and the paramilitary force had no jurisdiction in the area.

Having conveyed this message to the BSF contingent, Tiridib Sarkar, the sub-divisional police officer Dinhata, firmly told the BSF men to leave the area and return to their barracks.

"This is a law-and-order issue and you don't have any jurisdiction here... Please leave this place," Sarkar was heard in a video that surfaced after Sahebganj witnessed skirmishes between the BJP and the Trinamul over scrutiny of nominations for the panchayat polls.

The trigger behind the incident was an allegation from the BJP at around 12.30pm that the ruling Trinamul members had torn the nomination papers of their candidates while the scrutiny of nomination papers for the panchayat polls was in progress at the Dinhata II block office.

The allegation resulted in Union minister of state for home affairs Nisith Pramanik rushing to the spot at 1pm, which prompted hundreds of Trinamul functionaries to also reach the area. The gathering of political activists resulted in intense altercation, followed by pushing and shoving between supporters of the two parties.

After Pramanik, who has central paramilitary force officers as his security, reached the spot, a contingent of the BSF arrived at 1.15pm.

"There was no business for the BSF contingent to be there... And our officer, The SDPO, did the right thing by reminding them that they were beyond their jurisdiction," said a senior home department source at Nabanna.

Over the last five years or so, the jurisdiction of BSF has been a bone of contention between the state and the centre after the Union ministry of home affairs issued a notification in October 2021 saying that the BSF’s jurisdiction has been increased 15 kilometres to 50 kilometres.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had been vocal about the notification and the state Assembly adopted a resolution in November 2021, calling it an affront to federal structure and opposing it.

In most of her meetings in bordering areas, where there is a lot of discontent against the BSF, Mamata has repeatedly mentioned this issue and stated in no uncertain terms that Bengal would not allow the BSF to operate anywhere beyond the bordering areas.

On Saturday, while the scrutiny of nominations was in progress, an altercation broke out between BJP and Trinamul as the former alleged that supporters of Mamata Banerjee’s party have tore their nominations. Such allegations made Nisith Pramanik, the Union minister of state for home affairs, to react. He turned up at the BDO office with his personal security to check out the state of affairs.

“The BSF contingent turned up soon after the MoS reached the BDO office. We asked them to leave the area as they have no business there. The law and order is a state subject,” said a senior police officer.

As the BSF contingent reached the spot, which the state police interpreted at the behest of Pramanik, the state police was quick to react, in consonance with the lines of chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

“She has steadfastly opposed the Centre’s decision to increase the jurisdiction of BSF from 15km to 50km. A resolution was also passed at the Assembly. It is evident the state police will not allow any supposed highhandedness of BSF, especially when the panchayat polls are ahead,” said a retired police officer.

The BJP workers alleged their nomination papers were torn by Trinamul workers.

Pramanik reached Sahebganj. Udayan Guha, the north Bengal development minister, alleged Pramanik went to the block office with BSF personnel although there was no order of deploying the central paramilitary forces yet.

"We have the video footage that the central minister of state was trying to engage the BSF personnel who were loitering around him. Later with the intervention of police the BSF personnel left the spot," said Avijit De Bhowmik, the Cooch Behar Trinamul district president.

Nisith reacted. "The BJP could not file nominations in more than half of the seats here. So to conceal their failure, the Trinamul leaders were trying to generate unrest and even tried to engage the BSF personnel (to create unrest)," he said.

Local residents too confirmed that the police and the BSF personnel even got into altercations. Eventually, the BSF team left the spot.

The saffron camp, however, denied the charge.

"Sahebganj is near international border with Bangladesh. BSF has a camp office at Sahebganj. So, naturally the BSF personnel move along the local roads. Trinamul is misinterpreting the situation," Pramanik said later.

He claimed Trinamul-backed goons not only roughed up the BJP workers but a woman was molested too.

"Everything happened in the presence of police who were mute spectators. There was even an attempt to attack me with arrows. If a Union minister of state does not have proper security in the state, the pitiable situation of common people is easily understood," Pramanik said.

Trinamul leadership, however, denied the allegations.

"The motive of the BJP was to disrupt the scrutiny process. So the Union minister of state masterminded an attack upon the Trinamul by engaging the central paramilitary personnel," a Trinamul leader said.

Malda violence

A senior Trinamul leader of Sujapur under Kaliachak police station in Malda Mustafa Sheikh, 62 was allegedly beaten to death by Congress workers on Saturday.

Trinamul leader Sabina Yeasmin consoles a relative of the deceased Mostafa Sheikh who was allegedly killed in Sujapur of Malda on Saturday: Soumya De Sarkar

One person has been detained in this connection. A probe is on.