Bengal’s Burning Again: Two Dead In Bhangar

Anwara Bibi’s grief can barely be contained. Three days ago, her 25-year-old son, Alamgir Molla, was shot dead when clashes broke out in Bhangar, in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, between the police and those protesting over the construction of a power grid substation. Alamgir was a post graduate student of Barasat State University and according to his mother, he wasn’t involved in the protest. He’d simply gone to offer prayers at a local mosque when he was targeted by the “men in uniform”. She alleges they shot him twice.

According to State Power Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, however, there has been only one death in Bhangor – that of 26-year-old Mafizul Ali Khan.

Khan’s home is a short distance from Molla’s. His three children, who are confused by the sudden influx of visitors to their thatched house, have been asking about their abba (father) who hasn’t returned home. Khan, a truck driver, was also killed on Tuesday, in what locals believed was police firing.

However, little is as it meets the eye in Bhangar.  

Since 2013, Bhangar has been simmering over the issue of land acquisition to set up the power substation for the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, but this week, the situation became significantly more serious. However, the police claim no such firing took place. Additional Director General of Police (law and order) Anuj Sharma told PTI, “There has been no police firing. The police didn’t fire a single shot. The work of the Power Grid station has already stopped.”

Despite this, at a press conference held today, Chattopadhyay announced Rs two lakh in compensation, which has reportedly been sent to both families (even though Chattopadhyay seems to be unaware there are two victims).  

Villagers told Newslaundry that trouble started when around 300 men armed with bombs, guns and dressed in police uniforms stormed their villages, ransacking houses, and assaulted them before opening fire. “We were sitting on the veranda when they barged into the house and beat us brutally. We had to take shelter in a toilet to save our lives,” said Mahirun Bibi, showing the bandaged toe of her three-year-old granddaughter Nargis, who was also beaten up by the mob. Eight vehicles were also set ablaze.

Until yesterday, Bhangar thought it had seen clashes with the police, but sets of police uniforms were found in the fields of Bhangar, setting off speculation that the “men in uniform” were “plants”. This isn’t unheard of in the area. Communist Party of India (Marxist)-backed goons did the same in Nandigram 10 years ago — they disguised themselves in khaki uniforms and attacked agitating villagers.

The men in uniform retreated after facing strong resistance from the villagers, who have now put on display the discarded uniforms to prove that armed men had been sent to suppress the protests. Locals have blocked the entry point to the village with logs.

The only solace that the Khans and Mollas have is that the administration has accepted the two men’s deaths was due to bullet wounds, even though there is no mention so far of an enquiry into the circumstances of their death. Locals have demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation because several other families are spending sleepless nights since over two dozen people are still missing from the area.

The villagers’ claim 13 acres of land for the substation were forcibly acquired from them by a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Arabul Islam, who has several serious criminal charges pending against him. Many in the village suspect Islam of being behind the attack as well.

Part of the tension in the area can attributed to confusion regarding what was actually being built. Ashraf Ali Khan (45), who lost around five bighas of the fertile land for the project, said, “We intensified our protests after coming to know about the power grid as the high-tension wires passing overhead might damage our crops and lead to health hazards.” The villagers weren’t aware of what the construction of the substation entailed. “The support structures were installed without our consent and the alignment of the transmission lines were tweaked in view of the upcoming townships and real estate projects,” said Ashraf. He also mentioned that the high tension lines made cultivation difficult.

The timing of the clash couldn’t have been worse for the government, which is busy organising the Bengal Global Business Summit to attract global investors. The CM has already mentioned that land would not be an issue as the government has plenty of it. TMC leaders conceded that the protests could starve the industry-hungry state. “It is up to the Chief Minister to handle the situation and convince the investors to invest in the state,” said Abdur Razzak Molla, the Bhangar MLA who was the land reform minister under Left regime in 2007, when the protests over land acquisition in Nandigram broke out. He switched loyalties to TMC during the assembly polls last year.

Banerjee has already resorted to the damage control mode by announcing that no land would be forcefully acquired and the project might be relocated if the situation warrants.

Local TMC leaders and villagers, however, blamed the senior leadership for overlooking the tensions that have been brewing since 2013. “The violence could have been prevented had the top acted on time,” said Kalu Sheikh, a local ruling party leader. Sheikh was arrested on January 16, which added fuel to fire, but was released after a few hours because several thousand villagers staged massive protests.  

Will this violence derail Banerjee’s plans for Bengal? Will Bhangor be another Singur? The agitations continue and even the police are unable to enter the area. From the compensation packages that have been announced, it’s evident that the State is in damage-control mode.