Kolkata, February 26
Violence erupted today at
Tamluk in east Midnapore, about 150 km from here, following the
unnatural death of a housewife. The police fired several rounds,
resulting in the death of two persons and injuries to 12 others, whom
the local Trinamool Congress had claimed to be their supporters.
Seven
of the injured were admitted to hospital. The police put the death toll
at one.
According to a report, the housewife, with severe burn
injuries, died on way to hospital last night. When her body was being
taken for the last rites with police escort, several angry Trinamool
supporters blocked the road and demanded a CID probe into the death.
They alleged that the housewife had been tortured to death by the
family of her in-laws, belonging to the CPI(M), over dowry demand and
the police was keeping silent. They charged that the body was handed
over to family members of her in-laws without postmortem examination.
The police denied the charge.
The police personnel escorting the body
tried to persuade the angry mob to allow the body to be taken to the
cremation ground, but to no avail. The irate mob pelted stones at the
police party, causing injuries to five constables and a
sub-inspector.
In the face of the attack, the police fired several
rounds, resulting in the death of a young man, Tapan Das, on the spot.
Later, another person, Kalinath Samanta, succumbed to his
injuries.
Meanwhile, the police and paramilitary forces jointly
launched a combing operation in the Belphari forest area in west
Midnapore district early today following the incidents of landmine
explosion and attack on police by PWG and MCC activists yesterday, in
which eight policemen were killed.
A large contingent of CRPF and BSF
jawans had been sent to the spot and explosives experts also left for
Belphari from Kolkata, accompanied by the IG and two DIGs.
