Political Violence in Bengal: Birbhum Killings Revive Memories of Past Incidents

'The worrying factor is that panchayat elections are just one year away,' said senior journalist Monideepa Banerjie.

The horrific incident in West Bengal's Birbhum district, during which at least eight people were charred to death, has shed light on the past incidents of violence caused by inter- and intra-party rivalries in the state, such as in Nanoor in 2000, Chhoto Angaria in 2001, Nandigram in 2007, and Netai in 2011.

The district has been simmering with tensions since Monday, 21 March, when a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader in Bogtui village named Bhadu Sheikh was murdered, leading to several houses being set on fire in retaliation.

While some reports have alleged that the incident was sparked by an intra-TMC feud, others say it was inter-party rivalry that led to the horrific murders.

'Deadliest Incident of Violence in the Region'

Talking about the killings, senior journalist Ajoy Mukhopadhyay said the district has a "chequered" history of violence.

"We can’t say that Bogtui is a peaceful village because there have been incidents of violence in the past as well… sometimes even involving countrymade bombs and explosions."

Ajoy Mukhopadhyay

However, he added, even villagers are of the opinion that the past incidents were not as deadly as the current events. "They say that we had not imagined that such kinds of incidents can happen here," Mukhopadhyay told The Quint.

Referring to an incident during which violence had been witnessed on a massive scale in Birbhum, he said, "Back in 2001, the Nanoor massacre had left 11 landless labourers dead... (They were killed) by CPI(M) (Communist Party of India – Marxist) activists in Suchpur, which used to be a CPI(M) bastion, until the TMC started making inroads there."

The landless labourers were all TMC supporters. They were killed in Nanoor by CPI(M) workers led by Nitya Chatterjee, a Birbhum district committee member of the said party. As many as 44 workers of the CPI(M), including Chatterjee, were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Calcutta High Court in November 2010 for carrying out the murders.

But perhaps the deadliest incident of violence in the state occurred in Nandigram in 2007, when a reported 14, and an estimated 50 people died in police firing and inter-party rivalry. Several women were raped during the horrific incident, and a large number of people left their homes.

Conceding that the Birbhum district has generally been "a rather agitated area in the past," Mukhopadhyay added that the frequency of violent events in the region had reduced ever since the TMC came to power.

Embarrassment for the TMC

Ever since the TMC was re-elected to power in 2021 in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been accusing the Mamata Banerjee-led government of engaging in political vendetta in the form of post-poll violence, including political assassinations, and stirring up animosity against Opposition leaders.

Speaking to The Quint on the likely political impact the recent incident in Birbhum will have on the politics of the state, particularly the ruling government, senior journalist Monideepa Banerjie said, "The worrying factor is that panchayat elections are just one year away. The last panchayat elections were terribly violent. And there is a worry that this incident (on 21 March) could begin that spiral of violence again... I just hope there won't be a repeat; it certainly won't be a happy situation for the Mamata Banerjee government."

Twelve people had died and around 50 had been injured amid inter-party tensions during the 2018 panchayat elections in the state, amid reports of bombs being hurled, ballot boxes being destroyed and reporters getting attacked.

Violence had reportedly taken place in Cooch Behar, Bhangar, South 24 Parganas, and Murshidabad districts, and there were several alleged incidents of booth capturing by the TMC workers.

The recent incident in Birbhum also seems to have given the BJP ammunition to target the ruling government afresh.

"There is no question that the BJP now has something to talk about. (The incident) has given them a big opportunity to attack the ruling government, and the attack is certainly embarrassing for the TMC administration," Banerjie added.

She also said that as per information from locals, the incident on Monday occurred in part due to lapses on the part of the administration.

"The police station is not very far from where the incident occurred. Probably the bombings could be heard, the fires could be seen, and yet action by the police was late," she said.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister met the families of the victims on Thursday and announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for them, and Rs 50,000 each to those who had been injured during the incident. She also said that compensation of Rs 2 lakh each would be given for rebuilding the houses that were damaged, and assured locals of prompt justice.

While she called the incident unfortunate, Banerjee also said that such incidents were more frequent in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan.