Case Against Bengal BJP MP After Panic Over Suspected COVID-19 Deaths

A police case was filed against Dr Subhas Sarkar, the BJP MP from West Bengal's Bankura, for allegedly fanning fear and panic with his comments over the midnight cremation of the bodies of two people on April 12. The complaint against him claimed his statements had caused alarm over COVID-19.

On April 13, Dr Sarkar shared a video with the media saying, "Controversy over the death toll again. Two people who died at the Bankura Medical College Hospital were cremated by the administration which did not give the bodies to the families. Their swab reports had not come in. What was the hurry? The incident has frightened the people of Bankura and Purulia districts."

On 14 April, local Trinamool Congress leader Joydeep Chatterjee filed a police complaint against Dr Sarkar for his statement allegedly causing fear and panic among the people.

The police filed the First Information Report or FIR the same day charging the BJP MP for statements causing mischief and flouting laws to tackle an emergency situation.

Late on April 14, a huge crowd gathered at the Bankura crematorium to protest the late night cremation of a patient who died at the local government hospital. The police had to launch a lathi charge to disperse the crowd and enable the last rites.

Dr Subhash Sarkar today claimed the FIR was filed against him just to frighten local people into silence. "All I had asked was why the hurry to cremate? Luckily the test results of the two bodies were negative. I met the district magistrate and suggested five steps to ensure people were not afraid. But now a case has been filed against me," he said.

Several BJP leaders have been raising questions about the number of deaths from COVID-19 in Bengal. National secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya had even tweeted asking if bodies of COVID-19 patients were being hidden at a hospital. BJP states chief and MP Dilip Ghosh has been routinely questioning the figures put out by the Mamata Banerjee government.

Mamta Banerjee has dismissed such claims and said the opposition has nothing better to do. "This is not a time for politics," she said.