Team of BJP MPs to visit the area and report to Amit Shah

As many as 16 people are arrested in connection with Thursday’s firing in Bhatpara in West Bengal’s North 24 Paraganas district in which two persons were killed and 11, including six policemen, were injured.

While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordered the police “to bring the situation under control in 72 hours”, according to government officials, the BJP demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the incident. Locals blamed the police, while the police denied the allegation.

On Friday, the BJP brought out a rally with the bodies of the deceased who died of gunshot wounds. There were scuffles between the police and the BJP activists, but no major incident of violence was reported.

Two men, Dharamveer Shaw, 40 and Rambabu Shaw, 18, who used to sell phoochka, a popular street savoury, succumbed to yesterday’s firing.

The BJP has announced the names of three MPs, including Bengal MP S. S. Ahluwalia, who will visit Bhatpara on Saturday. The team will “submit a report to the national president Amit Shah,” a BJP note said.