Bengal violence: NCSC to visit Sandeshkhali tomorrow, to interact with families of those killed in post-poll clashes

Kolkata: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes will, on Friday, meet the family members of those killed in the post-poll violence in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, the commission confirmed.

[caption id=“attachment_4469081” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Security personnel lathi charge on political party worker at a village in Howrah district of West Bengal. PTI[/caption] A five-member team of the NCSC will meet the three families who belonged to scheduled castes, Commission chairman Prof Ram Shankar Katheria, a member of the team, told PTI. “A team will be visiting Sandeshkhali on Friday on a spot visit. We will talk to the family members of the three persons murdered in the post-poll political violence in West Bengal,” he said. Senior state government officials, including Chief Secretary Malay Kumar De, Director General of Police Virendra and Home Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, were directed to be present in the area on Friday with up-to-date reports in connection with the killings. The NCSC chairman said the Commission has taken a suo motu cognisance into the Sandeshkhali killings and sought a report from the state government in this regard. “We have started a suo moto case in this matter. We will try to find out what actually happened. We will check on how much amount they (families of those killed) should get as compensation… Whether they will get a house or a job,” Katheria said. The NCSC may also write to President Ram Nath Kovind if it felt that there was negligence on part of the investigation and the accused were not arrested, he said. Three men were killed on Saturday in North 24 Parganas district’s Sandeshkhali area after clashes broke out between the Trinamool Congress and BJP workers. Post-poll violence has been reported from various places of West Bengal after the BJP secured 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state, just four less than that of the TMC.