Two days after a mob attacked BJP MP Khagen Murmu and party MLA Shankar Ghosh in the flood-hit Nagrakata area of Jalpaiguri district, police on Wednesday arrested two persons. “We have arrested two persons, identified as Ekramul Haque and Govinda Sharma, for Monday’s attack on the BJP lawmakers. The investigation is underway. We will soon arrest the others involved in the attack," Superintendent of Police (Jalpaiguri) Khandbahale Umesh Ganpat told The Indian Express. Police said that while one was arrested from Nagrakata, the other one was nabbed from Jaigaon, near the India-Bhutan border in neighbouring Alipurduar district. Police have lodged an FIR against eight people in connection with the attack that left BJP ML Murmu with severe head injuries. BJP MLA Ghosh, who was also admitted along with Murmu, was discharged from the hospital. Earlier in the day, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar, who visited the injured party leaders in the hospital, claimed that the mob attack was a "pre-planned murder attempt" and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for “failing to maintain law and order”. On Tuesday, state BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya had demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Accusing the TMC of being behind the incident, he claimed that the attack on his party's legislators was to silence the voice of protest. "We don't have faith in the state police. There has to be a probe by a central agency like the CBI," Majumdar said. Meanwhile, in Delhi, the BJP targeted the chief minister, alleging that democracy was being “killed” in the state under her rule. “Three separate incidents of deadly violence have been carried out against BJP representatives, specifically targeting leaders from the tribal community. Amidst the ongoing devastation in north Bengal, Mamata Banerjee’s celebrations and the TMC’s political frustration have manifested themselves in this violent phase against three elected BJP leaders,” BJP national spokesperson Shahzad Poonawalla said. The BJP has claimed that another BJP MLA, Manoj Oraon of Kumargram in Alipurduar district, was also allegedly attacked while distributing relief materials on Tuesday. He said, “West Bengal has been facing floods and landslides, particularly affecting North Bengal. More than 35 people have lost their lives, and over 50,000 have been displaced. This dire situation in North Bengal is largely a man-made disaster, as the floods, though natural, were exacerbated by the corruption of the TMC government.” — With ENS, New Delhi
