CM justifies firing, says attack on cop is attack on me

In her first remark on Wednesday's incident of police firing in Tehatta in Nadia district that killed one person, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday sided with the police officer who had ordered firing saying he and his family were attacked by violent mob.

"Attack on an officer's house is as bad as an attack on my house. People will have to understand that their houses too could be attacked. Can this type of incident be supported?" the Chief Minister said at a police programme in Kolkata.

She also claimed that the attack on the police officer's house was a "planned" one to "instigate communal violence in the area, which has a history of communal clashes". "We have started a probe into the matter and we will find out the people who were responsible for it. Our government will never tolerate those people who have tried to instigate communal violence in the state," she said.

"Do not play with fire. It is easy to trigger flames of communal riot, but is very difficult to put out the fire. I have witnessed riots in Kolkata in 1992. I have seen the people's suffering. So I am telling quite clearly that I will be the last person to tolerate if anyone tries to trigger communal riots in the area," she added.

Later speaking to the mediapersons, Home Secretary Basudeb Banerjee said the magisterial probe into the violence will look into all the angles including "conspiracy". "It will also be looked into why the SDPO found himself alone during the attack by the mob though there was police contingent in the area," Banerjee added. The officer-in-charge of Tehatta police station has, meanwhile, been removed.

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