3 die in clashes, several injured in Birbhum village

Villagers claimed that miscreants entered the village and hurled bombs, fired gunshots, burnt and ransacked houses during the almost two hour-long attack, even as prohibitory orders under Section 144 were imposed in the village.

A strong contingent of police personnel under Additional Superintendent of Police Ananda Roy was present on the spot, police said. Rubbishing claims of police being inactive, Superintendent of Police, Birbhum, Alok Rajoria, said that while no arrests were made during the day, the police was ‘prompt in taking action and had recovered many of the injured from the spot.’

The Rapid Action Force (RAF) has been deployed in the Makra village where the violence took place.

Many villagers have also reportedly fled the area. This violence comes days after assailants hurled bombs at three policemen, including the officer-in-charge of a police station in Birbhum last week.The earlier incident took place on Friday in Birbhum district’s Parui village, when a police team led by officer-in-charge Prasenjit Dutta raided a hideout in the area where crude bombs were allegedly being stored.