BJP alleges 1 party worker killed in clash with police, state says no violence was used on protestors

West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Dilip Ghosh on Monday said that a party worker had died during clashes with the police in Siliguri during a party programme.

In a tweet, the West Bengal BJP from its official Twitter account wrote: “Ulen Roy, BJP worker, died due to police lathicharge. He was demanding development of North Bengal. Pishi (Mamata Banerjee) is the home minister of Bengal and is directly responsible for his death. It is obvious that Pishi resents North Bengal and is targeting those opposed to TMC’s injustice!”

Violence erupted in Siliguri at the programme of the BJP outside Uttarkanya, the state secretariat of north Bengal. Senior leaders Dilip Ghosh, Kailash Vijayvargiya, Tejaswi Surya were part of the marches towards Uttarkanya. Police tried to stop them and used water canons and tear gas. But it soon led to a chaotic situation, and protestors broke police barricades. Police resorted to lathicharge and BJP leaders alleged that police used violence on a peaceful protest. Ghosh later said that police threw stones and country-made bombs.

The BJP is planning to call a 12-hour bandh in North Bengal on Tuesday. Meanwhile, West Bengal Police took to Twitter to state that: “Today in Siliguri, serious acts of violence were committed by the supporters of a political party during their protest program. They resorted to arson, brick-batting, firing and vandalism of govt property. Police showed restraint and didn’t do lathicharge or used fire arms. Only water cannons and tear gas were used to disperse the violent crowd. However, death of a person has been reported. Body has been sent for PM. The actual cause of death will be known only after the PM.”