MHA to send team to Bengal to probe post-poll violence

The MHA on Wednesday wrote to West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay saying it has not received any report from the state

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar to give a report on the law and order situation in the state following the post-result violence in the state even as it decided to send a four-member fact-finding team to the state to assess the ground situation.

The decisions came as the West Bengal government did not comply with a direction from the MHA on May 3 to submit a report on the violence in the state following the announcement of election results.

Sources said the Governor has been asked to submit his report at the earliest, after assessing the situation.

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Separately, a team led by an Additional Secretary in the MHA has been formed, which has already left for the state. Sources said the team will assess the ground situation and report to the MHA.

On Wednesday, the MHA had sent a terse reminder to the state government for not complying to its directive and asked it to submit a detailed report on the post-poll violence and take necessary measures to stop such incidents "without any loss of time".

It had warned that it will take the issue "seriously" in case the state fails to do so.

Several people were killed in violence since Sunday evening as it became clear that Trinamool Congress was returning to power in the state for the third time.

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BJP alleged that the Trinamool cadres were unleashing violence against its supporters, an allegation strongly denied by the Mamata Banerjee-led government. Congress and the Left also condemned the violence in the state.

On Tuesday, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) asked its Deputy Inspector General (Investigation) to constitute a team to conduct an on-the-spot fact finding probe.

National Commission for Women (NCW) chief Rekha Sharma reached Bengal on Wednesday to enquire into women being beaten up in Nandigram. BJP chief JP Nadda also visited Bengal on Wednesday.