Shops shut, vehicles off roads across north Bengal in BJP's 12-hour shutdown over MLA's death

Shops in most places in north Bengal remained closed and public transport partially affected during the 12-hour bandh called by the BJP in the region on Tuesday over the death of party MLA Debendra Nath Roy.

The MLA from Hemtabad, in his 60s, was found dead under mysterious circumstances near his home in North Dinajpur district on Monday.

His body was found hanging from the ceiling of a verandah outside a shuttered shop near his home in Bindal village in the Hemtabad area of the district, according to police.

The BJP has demanded a CBI probe into the Roy's death, alleging that he was murdered. The state government said that the post mortem report indicates that it was a case of suicide.

Union Minister Debasree Chowdhury and BJP MPs Jayanta Roy, Sukanta Majumdar and Nisith Pramanick paid tribute to Roy in Raiganj.

Road blockades, picketing and clashes between bandh supporters and police were reported from various places in north Bengal during the shutdown, which was underway from 6 am to 6 pm.

Police said a total of 33 people were detained for trying to enforce the shutdown in different districts of the region.

In North Dinajpur, the shutdown was absolute. Vehicles stayed off the roads in Raigunj and nearby areas, while shops were also shut. Bandh supporters were seen picketing on roads and shouting slogans demanding an impartial investigation into the death of the CPI(M)-turned-BJP leader.

Balurghat, Gangarampur and Buniyadpur towns are already under total lockdown due to rising COVID-19 cases. Some state-run buses were seen, but public vehicles were largely off the roads.

Shops mostly remained shut in the urban areas of the district as BJP workers continued picketing. Led by the party's Balurghat MP Sukanta Majumdar, BJP workers took out a rally, demanding a fair probe into the death of Roy.

BJP supporters clashed with police in Coochbehar while trying to prevent buses from leaving the North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) depot there, officials said.

Window panes of a couple of buses were damaged allegedly by bandh supporters in the town, they said.

Buses moved out of the depot after the bandh supporters, who were being led by BJP Coochbehar district president Malati Rava, were removed by police, the officials said.

In Alipurduar, bandh supporters clashed with police, leading to the arrest of several persons.

In neighbouring Jalpaiguri, BJP workers blocked several roads. Public transport was largely unavailable, while shops and markets were shut.

The BJP took out a rally in support of the shutdown in Jalpaiguri town, while the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal organised a march opposing it.

BJP Jalpaiguri president Bapi Goswami claimed that there was total shutdown in the district. However, former TMC MP Bijoy Chandra Burman said that some shops remaining closed does not mean people have supported the bandh.

In Siliguri, state-run bus services were near normal, while private buses were fewer in number.

Shops and markets in some places were closed, though, with several areas in the city having been declared containment zones owing to an increase in COVID-19 cases.

People were seen in markets that were open and also using public transport, though they were fewer than usual.

BJP workers picketed in several areas in Old Malda town since morning.

In the afternoon, led by the party's district president, Gobindo Chandra Mondal, they blocked National Highway-34 for around 30 minutes.

Large number of police personnel were deployed across Malda district. Tension brewed as BJP supporters, among whom were a significant number of women, tried to stop a few buses in some areas. They were promptly removed.

The bandh supporters tried to disrupt the operations at the main post office in the district, but it continued functioning as usual amid heavy police presence.

Shops were shut in the Malda district headquarter's English Bazar and a lesser number of people were seen on roads. The shutdown also impacted normal life in Bamangola, Habibpur and Gajol.

The region north of Ganga, which splits West Bengal at Murshidabad, is referred to as north Bengal.

It stretches from Coochbehar district on the Assam border to Malda, and the BJP has won most of the seats from Bengal in last year's Lok Sabha polls in this region, which has traditionally voted for either the Left or the Congress.

The Trinamool Congress electoral success has always been propelled by its victories in the south Bengal that stretches from Murshidabad to the Bay of Bengal coast, though the northern region gave it some tailwind in the 2016 assembly polls.