The BJP has announced a 12-hour bandh in north Bengal on Friday in protest against "atrocities on a tribal community". The bandh call comes in the backdrop of a teenage girl's death at Kaliaganj in Uttar Dinajpur district last week. Several incidents of violence have been reported since.
North Bengal includes the districts of Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Darjeeling, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda.
The ruling Trinamool Congress has reacted sharply to the bandh call and accused the BJP of trying to disturb peace in the state. The party has also accused the BJP of trying to politicise and communalise the teen's death, calling it "vulture politics".
The Calcutta High Court, meanwhile, has asked for a progress report on the investigation. The court has asked the police to submit the postmortem report, case diary and FIR by May 2.
The court has also directed the police to hand over a copy of the FIR and postmortem report to the family and the NCPCR. The family members have gone to court, seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Kaliaganj remained tense but peaceful today. The BJP, however, claimed that one person has been killed in police firing. There has been no statement from the police on the matter.
The police came under attack on Tuesday and a viral video had shown a policeman being beaten up by a mob inside the police station.
BJP MP Debasree Choudhury held a protest in the area today and called for the bandh.
"One of our members protesting over the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl in Uttar Dinajpur's Kaliaganj was shot dead by police," she told reporters.
"BJP workers are continuously being arrested after the Ram Navami violence. Till now, more than 150 workers have been arrested. We would like to tell Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that due to her failures, the Kaliaganj incident took place and now she must take responsibility for it," she added.
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