Four people were killed in firing by CISF jawans at Sitalkuchi in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district during the fourth phase of elections on April 10. The CISF had alleged that a mob attacked them and tried to snatch their rifles.
The incident led to a war of words with the Trinamool Congress alleging that the deceased were their supporters and the BJP accusing the ruling party of instigating violence. Several BJP leaders such as Suvendu Adhikari, Arjun Singh and Saumitra Khan tweeted a picture of an injured CISF man, claiming he was attacked by Trinamool goons during the poll violence. Some of them have later deleted their posts.
The claim was also shared by BJP’s Saumitra Khan with his over 40,000 followers. Among other who shared the claim was Major Surendra Poonia. The article carried the viral image and mentioned that it shows ASI SP Sharma, who was on duty at a CISF camp in Baghmara in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad when some langurs attacked him on Friday, 9 April.
But though clashes broke out between locals and CISF personnel at Sitalkuchi, India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found that the viral picture has no relation to the incident. The viral picture is of CISF ASI SP Sharma who was attacked by a langur at Dhanbad on April 9. As per this news report, the injured man seen in the picture is CISF ASI SP Sharma, who was attacked by a langur while on duty at Baghmara in Dhanbad, Jharkhand.
For further clarification, AFWA reached out to CISF sub-inspector Pradeep Kumar in Dhanbad. Kumar confirmed that it is ASI Sharma in the picture, who was attacked by a group of langurs on April 9 at around 6.30 pm. At that time, Sharma was posted at the BK-2 area at Baghmara’s Bharat Coking Coal Limited plant.
“These langurs are a nuisance in the area. Several measures were taken to control them but in vain. A group of langurs had attacked Sharma. He tried to defend himself with a lathi, but one particular langur which was very violent attacked him on his face,” Pradeep Kumar said. Hence, it is confirmed that the viral picture of the injured CISF man has no link to the poll violence at Sitalkuchi in West Bengal. Superintendent of Police, Cooch Behar, made a statement on Saturday saying that the CISF firing was in self-defence. He stated that a man fell unconscious and was being treated in front of the booth, but the villagers assumed he was injured by the CISF.
This led to a crowd of 300-350 people allegedly attacking the CISF by trying to snatch their rifles, use of handmade weapons, and other such acts, he added.
The CISF personnel got into a scuffle with the villagers, after which the firing started, he said. So far, four people have lost their lives, confirmed the SP.
