TMC holds protest in Kolkata over killing of youth by BSF, Section 144 imposed

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday staged a day-long sit-in near the residence of state home minister Nisith Pramanik at Bhetaguri in Cooch Behar district, seeking justice for an "innocent Rajbanshi youth who was branded a cattle smuggler and shot dead by the BSF". According to local officials, Section 144 of CrPC has been invoked within a radius of 150 meters around the minister's residence while tight security measures have been taken in the area to avoid any untoward situation.

District Additional Superintendent of Police Kumarasani Raj said drones are being monitored in the area. and about five hundred police and RAF were deployed. The TMC, protesting the death of 24-year-old Prem Kumar Barman in Dinhata block, sought immediate action against those involved. The agitators raised slogans against the BJP-led Centre, BSF and Pramanik. Central troops were seen guarding the perimeter of Pramanik's house during the day. In addition, bamboo barricades were erected to prevent anyone from violating the ban. State police personnel were also seen guarding Bhetaguri.

North Bengal Development Minister and TMC MLA Udayan Guha from Dinhata, former state ministers Paresh Adhikari and Binoy Barman were among those who participated in the day-long protest. Addressing the sit-in participants, Guha declared: "Those who support such killings are not human beings." He demanded that the Interior Ministry take punitive action against those responsible for the shooting.

A barman was shot dead, allegedly by a BSF constable, in Dinhata block near the India-Bangladesh border in December 2022. Family members claimed that the 24-year-old man was "a migrant worker who had returned home a few days before the tragedy." ". The BSF claimed that the deceased was a "cattle smuggler". During a public meeting in Coochbehar district a week ago, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee called for a demonstration by party workers.