Or worse, is the West Bengal Police, under Mamata Banerjee as Home Minister, now part of a thriving terror syndicate, which deals in illegal foreign weapons, being smuggled into the country?
But the final accountability rests with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also responsible for the Police Department in Bengal.
Hitting out at the BJP over the incident, Banerjee said, “Even today I heard there was an incident near Sandeshkhali.
Countering TMC, BJP leader Rahul Sinha said, “Knowing that defeat is imminent, TMC leaders are freaking out.
They are trying to divert the attention as foreign-made arms were recovered from Sandeshkhali.
The recovery of arms and ammunition from a house in Sandeshkhali in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas on April 26 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sparked a verbal duel between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with the former alleging that it “may have been staged by central agencies”. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee (File Photo)
TMC supremo and Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee while stepping up her attack against the Centre and the BJP on Saturday said that the opposition party was orchestrating a plot to discredit the state amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and alleged that the arms and explosives recovered from a house in Sandeshkhali could and have been planted by them.
HT launches Crick-it, a one stop destination to catch Cricket, anytime, anywhere. Explore now!
“Nobody knows where it was recovered from. Maybe, it was brought from their own (CBI) car and presented as recovered items. There is no evidence to show it was found there,” Banerjee said while addressing an election rally at Kulti in West Burdwan district.
The CBI on Friday raided a house in Sandeshkhali in connection with its probe into the January 5 incident in which the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was allegedly attacked, and seized a cache of arms and ammunition.
The National Security Guard (NSG) after some items suspected to be country-made bombs were also recovered in a bag. The explosives were later disposed of.
Also Read: ‘Arrest Mamata, declare TMC a terror outfit’, demands BJP leader after CBI searches at premises of Sandeshkhali accused
“Even if a chocolate bomb explodes in Bengal, the CBI, NIA [National Investigation Agency] and NSG are deployed. It’s as if there is a war going on. It was done unilaterally as the state police weren’t informed,” Banerjee said.
Sandeshkhali hit the media headlines on January 5 after ED officials were attacked by a mob when they had gone to search the house of a TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan in connection with the ration distribution scam. Shahjahan was arrested by the state police on February 29 and handed over to the CBI on the orders of the Calcutta high court.
Countering Banerjee, the BJP said that it is not possible that a Colt official police revolver could make its way to the house in Sandeshkhali and questioned whether it was stolen from the state armoury.
“How did a Police revolver find its way to criminals like Sheikh Shahjahan? Was it stolen from the State Armoury? Was it ever reported? What arms are missing from the State Armoury? Custodial interrogation of Bengal DGP can shed light on it. Or worse, is the West Bengal Police, under Mamata Banerjee as Home Minister, now part of a thriving terror syndicate, which deals in illegal foreign weapons, being smuggled into the country? It is now clear that Sheikh Shahjahan was not just a rapist but also a terrorist. But the final accountability rests with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also responsible for the Police Department in Bengal. She must speak up,” Amit Malviya, BJP’s IT cell head, posted on his X handle.
Meanwhile, another political row erupted between the TMC and the BJP after a blast took place in a local BJP leader’s house at Hasnabad, around 35 km from Sandeshkhali in the same district.
“A woman was injured in the blast that took place in a house at Hasnabad on Saturday morning. She was rushed to the hospital where she was treated and discharged. Forensic officials are going to the spot,” said a senior police officer of the Basirhat police district.
The house where the blast took place belongs to Dilip Das, brother of Nemai Das. Both are BJP leaders. Nemai Das was the BJP’s candidate from Hingalganj in the 2021 assembly elections.
Hitting out at the BJP over the incident, Banerjee said, “Even today I heard there was an incident near Sandeshkhali. A BJP leader had stored bombs in his house. They think they can win by cancelling jobs and exploding bombs. But they are wrong. This won’t work. People want roti, kapda and makan and jobs and not their lofty speeches.”
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh claimed that several people were injured in the incident and questioned why the CBI or the NSG shouldn’t intervene to investigate the incident.
“Will the CBI, NSG and NIA visit the house? Many BJP leaders were seen with Das in pictures. The police should take them into custody and question them,” Kunal Ghosh, TMC spokesperson told the media in Kolkata.
Countering TMC, BJP leader Rahul Sinha said, “Knowing that defeat is imminent, TMC leaders are freaking out. They are trying to divert the attention as foreign-made arms were recovered from Sandeshkhali. It should be probed whether the TMC has a role behind the blast in the Hasnabad case.”
