Who killed Anand Barman? Mamata says it was the CAPF, but the reality is different

The death of four miscreants in Sitakulchi area of West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district has stirred up a political storm in the crucial state, which still has four phases of polling remaining. On Saturday – the fourth phase of voting was conducted, and the four miscreants in Sitakulchi had tried to gherao the central forces and attack them. In self-defence, the CISF opened fire on the attackers, causing their death. Interestingly, in a separate incident, one BJP booth worker Anand Barman was killed by alleged TMC goons. However, the killing of four miscreants and Anand Barman were clubbed together by the TMC to accuse the CAPF personnel of trying to suppress voters.

Mamata Banerjee and her party accused the BJP and central forces for being behind the death of Anand Barman. However, the BJP has stated that Barman was their polling agent at booth number 85 in Pathantuli area of Sitalkuchi. As per reports, he was shot dead outside the booth. The killing of Barman by goons and the death of four miscreants by the CISF are two separate incidents, which the TMC is notoriously trying to club together in order to malign the central forces, the BJP and particularly Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Eyewitnesses to the killing of Anand Barman, however, have exposed the TMC’s lies. Jan Ki Baat founder Pradeep Bhandari has shared an eyewitness testimony of the incident. According to the eyewitness, Anand Barman was standing in line to register vote when the murder took place. Speaking to Jan Ki Baat founder Pradeep Bhandari, the eyewitness said, “Anand had gone to vote, they had come with bombs. He got scared after seeing them. He was shot while he was returning home.” He added that there was no history of personal enmity and it was only due to the fact that he worked for the BJP while the others for Trinamool Congress.

Mounting an attack against Mamata Banerjee and her mountain of lies, Amit Shah said that her advice to gherao central forces had instigated people to attack CISF in Cooch Behar’s Sitalkuchi. Speaking about the death of BJP worker Anand Barman, Shah claimed, “Attempts are being made to politicise the Sitalkuchi killings. Mamata Banerjee had paid tributes to four persons who were killed in the CISF firing but did not condole the death of Anand Barman as he is a Rajbongshi and is not fit for her vote bank. It is very unfortunate to see appeasement politics even in case of deaths.”

The Election Commission must take action against the TMC for trying to project the killing of four miscreants by the CISF and the murder of Anand Barman by goons as one incident. The reality is quite different, and a thorough enquiry is required to ascertain who killed the BJP worker on Saturday.