The Enforcement Directorate’s report alleging police ‘failure’ to rescue its sleuths at Sarberia in North 24-Parganas, from the murderous attack of the angry mob on Friday morning and Governor C V Anand Bose’s threat – “I reserve all my constitutional options for appropriate action at appropriate moment”–are quite ominous and certainly do not resonate the real nature of the incident.
No doubt, the attack was most gruesome and deserves condemnation. This nature of lawlessness cannot be allowed to happen. What is really intriguing that no substantive and detailed report has come in the public domain as to what triggered this violence. Besides Sandeshkhali, the ED was to carry raid as part of its larger operation at 11 other locations across the state in connection with the same case. Surprisingly, at no other place the ED met with any resistance or protest. There were no reports of violence from the other places where the ED carried out raids on Friday.
While ED blamed the local police of not providing security cover, the superintendent of Basirhat police directorate, Thomas K, denied of any prior information of the raid. District police said they had no advance knowledge of the central agency’s raid and that a team had rushed to rescue the ED officers the moment they received the information. “We received an email from them about the raid at 8.20am. A team was sent to the spot immediately. But the incident had happened before they had sent us the mail,” said the official. He said: “Our team reached the spot, rescued the officers of the central agency and took them to a safe place.”
Going by the version of Thomas K, it is absolutely clear that ED officials wanted to hide their failures and wrongdoing and therefore were putting the blame on the state police. The district police officials even said that till 7 pm on Friday, they had not received any formal complaint from the central agency. “We are probing how and why suddenly so many people could gather at such a short notice and if there was any rumour mongering that led to the incident,” said a senior police officer.
It is normal practice that the local police is informed by the raiding agency of their action. By simply not informing the local police, while the ED was asserting its independent status, the central body also cast aspersion on the former. In cases where the raiding agency is apprehensive of getting the news leaked, it does not inform the local police. Does the ED officials nurse any such notion?
It is not that ED team didn’t have any security cover. It was accompanied by a group of CRPF personnel during the search and seizure operation at the residence of local Trinamool Congress leader, Sheikh Shahjahan. They should have taken action and not allowed the ED officials to be beaten up. If the sources are to relied upon, the large number local people who had assembled there had objected to breaking of the door of Shahjahan’s house and urged the ED officials to wait. But the ED officials were insistent.
What has indeed been surprising is the observation of Governor that it was not a banana republic. He even went o to assuring the people: “I would like to assure the people of Bengal that flexing muscles and parading paper tigers will not work with the people of Bengal. Jungle raj and goonda raj will only work in a fool’s paradise. Bengal is not a banana republic. The government should do its duties. The ostrich-like attitude of the police who pretend not to see the lawlessness around should go. The perpetrators of violence and also the political abettors will soon be able to realise that we can fool some people for all times, and all people for some times but not all people for all times. It is high time we call for a stop to violence and hooliganism in Bengal.”
Before making this observation, Governor Bose ought to have realised what impact his statement would have. He simply presented the incident in a more than larger form. What does he intend to convey to the state government, or the people of Bengal by stating thus: “If a government fails in its basic duty, then the Constitution of India will take its course. As a Governor I reserve all my Constitutional options at my disposal for appropriate action”? Does not it imply that the Mamata Banerjee government would be dismissed?
Strange enough, Bose also bracketed the Sandeshkhali incident with election violence. “This pre-election violence which has had an early beginning must have an early end. And this is the beginning of the end. The sole responsibility of wanton violence lies with the government. The government should open its eyes and see the reality and act effectively or else face the consequences.”
Sixteen years back, the then Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi had criticized the then Left Front government for the sustained violence in Nandigram. Gandhi had called the region a “war zone” and termed the erstwhile ruling party’s move “unlawful and unacceptable”. He had said: “No government or society could allow a war zone to exist without immediate and effective action”. Incidentally, he did not use the word banana republic.
Taking a step towards putting CM Mamata Banerjee in a more perilous state, the state president of the BJP wrote to Amit Shah urging him to initiate a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the Friday’s incident. “Such an investigation is crucial to ensure the safety of law enforcement personnel carrying out their duties and to uphold the rule of law in our country,” said the party chief.
Quick to react, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Sashi Panja questioned the Governor’s motive behind holding the state government accountable. She sought to know: “How could the Governor call the state a ‘banana republic’? Won’t you justify such big words? Won’t you prove it? Were such things said about (the incidents at BJP-ruled) Manipur and Tripura?” Calling the events at Sandeshkhali as “unfortunate”, Panja claimed that the villagers were provoked by the agency.
The state Congress president Adhir Choudhary went ahead of the BJP in demanding invocation of president’s rule in the state. He said: “After this attack by miscreants from the ruling establishment, against central agency officials, it is clearer than ever that there is no law and order here”. CPM state secretary Md Salim also attacked the Trinamool Congress government over what he said was worsening law and order.
Apprehensions are being expressed in political circles that Modi and Shah who have been working for long on the plan to dislodge the Mamata Banerjee government, may use the latest incident to impose president’s rule. The incident is being cited as break down of law and order machinery in the state. The BJP leader of opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, has smelled the involvement of Rohingyas in the incident. He said: “I think that Rohingyas are present amongst the anti-national attackers and urge Hon’ble union Home minister Amit Shah, Bengal Governor, Director ED and Director CRPF to take cognizance of this grave situation and take appropriate action to crush this anarchy.”
CM Banerjee’s inaction in not cracking down on the unruly political leaders of her own party is being presented as her surrender to these elements. It is alleged that Trinamool leaders Shankar Addya and Shahjahan Sheikh are the close aides of the minister Jyotipriya Mullick, who is now in jail in connection with the ration distribution scam, in which the ED gad raided the house of Sheikh on Friday. Incidentally, both were not present at home when the ED teams carried out the raid. Shahjahan Sheikh began his political career with the Left Front constituent RSP, but later moved to the CPM and eventually to Trinamool when it came to power. (IPA Service)
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