Families of Cooch Behar firing victims seek justice

Kolkata: "My brother has never been into politics. He worked as a mason in Mathabhanga. He was standing in the voting queue and was suddenly hit by bullets. We hail from a poor family and the incident has come as a bolt from the blue. We want justice and those responsible must be punished," said Manjur Ali Mia, the elder brother of Nameed Mia, one of the victims of the incident.

Manjur is not the only one whose life has veered off course due to the firing of Central forces where four people died during the 4th phase of polls on Saturday, at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar.

The families of all the victims have appealed to the administration for justice and demanded punishment for those responsible for the killings. Nameed has a three-year-old child and his wife is pregnant, and is likely to give birth in a few days.

Manjur said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has spoken with him through video call on Sunday and has assured him that she would stand by the family. He maintained that the ex-gratia of the state government will be of great hep but justice for his brother should be ensured.

"I was startled to hear the sound of bullets but coundn't realise that a disaster has befallen upon our family," said Rabia, the sister of Chhalmu Mia, another victim of the inhumane firing.

She maintained that Chhalmu along with his parents had gone for voting after his name was enrolled in the voting roll for the first time this year. "He was very excited but the first voting proved fatal for my brother, "Rabia added with tears rolling down her cheeks. "I would appeal to Didi (Mamata Banerjee) that you have done much development for the poor people like us but you must ensure that these sort of incidents must not be repeated," she said.

Not only the victim's family members but the entire Jorpatki village demanded justice and action against those responsible for the incident.