Burdwan residents protest against police atrocities

Burdwan, Feb 6 (ANI): Scores of locals staged a protest here on Saturday against the torching of an office of the regional Trinamool Congress (TMC) party, allegedly perpetrated by the security personnel.

The protests began soon after police conducted massive raids in crime-infested areas across Burdwan District.

Residents asserted that the TMC office was burnt down during a police raid on Saturday morning.

Protesting against the raids, Rafik Chaudhary, a local said: "The police came into our village in search of a few criminals. But when they could not find them, they started beating up the locals. They even torched our party office. A few flags of our Trinamool Congress party were also reduced to ashes."

Burdwan Superintendent of Police (SP) Humayun Kabir said the police were working without a political agenda.

"The police have started conducting raids at all crime-infested villages in this belt. We are conducting raids irrespective of political inclinations. Police are working impartially, and there is no politics involved," he said.

Kabir also revealed that several caches of arms, ammunition and explosives had been seized during the raids.

As per police officials, 150 crude bombs and a double barrel gun were recovered during a raid at a local clubhouse, while in a nearby village, around 243 crude explosives were seized. (ANI)