KOLKATA: Amid the twin encounters in West Bengal, first at Gaighata in North 24 Parganas district and the second at Samserganj in Murshidabad district, a member of the state cabinet took to writing poetry on her social media handle, indirectly backing the police action.
“Encounter” is the title of the poem written and posted by the State Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister, Agnimitra Paul, also an acclaimed fashion designer.
In the opening lines written in Bengali, Paul said, “Let crime stop and let people live. Let the darkness of fear go away, and let the hand that is responsible for people's safety prevent crime from happening again and again.”
In the second stanza of her poetry, the fashion designer-turned-politician observed that since there is no room for bowing to injustice, crime should be handled strictly.
She also observed that at times when situations are difficult, the burden of decisions is not that easy.
“Yet the value of courage is not small, and nothing is more important than the security of the people. May the strength of the state be on the side of the people, and may the morning of peace return to every home. We need firmness in suppressing crime, and hence there is no compromise on the security of the people,” the Minister observed in the concluding lines.
Although in her poetry, she has not specifically mentioned the encounters in Gaighata and Samserganj, the timing of the post makes it clear that her poetic observations were related to the twin encounters on Tuesday.
Her poetry surfaced amid the claims of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari that he has given the police a “free hand” in tackling two social evils -- crime against women and narcotics trafficking.
In the case of Gaighata, the one killed in the police encounter on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday was Prahlad Das, an accused in the rape-murder of a minor girl.
The person killed in a police encounter on Tuesday afternoon in Samserganj was Samiul Sheikh, who was accused of the murder of a local BJP leader in Samserganj earlier this year.
In both cases, the two were killed in retaliatory firing as the accused tried to escape by snatching the firearms of the escorting police personnel and resorting to firing at the on-duty cops.