Villagers Storm and Loot Minister's House Over Tribal Boy's Thrashing

Tuesday saw around 300 villagers storm and loot the ancestral house of Pradip Mazumdar, the minister of rural development and state panchayat, in East Burdwan's Raina. The incident occurred when a tribal kid was viciously abused on suspicion of taking fish from the minister's family pond.

According to a source, the teenager was beaten with bamboo sticks by five individuals who used to patrol the minister's pond after they were accused of catching him red-handed with a fishing net.

After the locals sought harsh punishment against those who were reportedly linked to the minister and were accused of torturing the youngsters, tensions in the neighborhood flared up.

"A story circulated in the community that police would not act because the guilty are close to the minister, as they did not take any action against those who are suspected of abusing the tribal youngster on Monday. On Tuesday, a crowd went in the direction of the minister's home since the police did nothing. They shattered window glass, destroyed gardens, and violently entered the residence. A source in the East Burdwan government said the police were unable to stop the assault because of the big crowd.

Following the assault on Mazumdar's residence, police said that two distinct charges had been filed: one for the vandalism at the minister's residence on Tuesday, and another for the abuse of the tribal youngsters on Monday.

"We intend to file a lawsuit and have opened an investigation into both events. The crowd assaulted the police on Tuesday as well as the minister's home. Amandeep, the superintendent of East Burdwan police, said that the situation has now returned to normal and that a sizable police detachment has been sent in to prevent any such unfortunate incidents.

But Mazumdar said he was unrelated to the event that happened in his family's house.

He said that the CPM leaders were complicit in the assault on Tuesday.

"I gave up our family pond so that local children might begin fishing and improve their lives. Someone had reportedly been beaten after being caught red-handed by those watching the pond. Monday saw a resolution to the matter. But the locals were provoked and the crowd was directed by the local CPM leaders to assault my home," Mazumdar said.

"Even though I don't live there, I always consider the community's welfare." Our ties with the villages are excellent since my father's family established three schools. We have established a new college as well," the minister, who resides in Durgapur, West Burdwan, said.

Leaders of the CPM, however, rejected the minister's assertion.

They added that the fury on Tuesday was a continuation of the anger directed on Trinamul leaders for their involvement in corruption.

"The CPM was not involved in it at all. It was a spontaneous outburst of anger directed on Trinamul by the general public. It demonstrated the public's ire at Trinamul leaders for their complicity in corruption, according to East Burdwan CPM state secretariat member Apurba Chattopadhyay.