Kolkata, Sept 23: Islampur in North Dinajpur district continues to remain on the boil as locals, along with the bereaved families of two students allegedly killed in police firing, are protesting against the state government. Local MLA and TMC leader Kanhaiya Agrawal was reportedly heckled by the grieving families on Sunday, when he went to meet them.

The BJP, along with its ideological parent RSS, has called a 12-hour shutdown in West Bengal on Wednesday. They have demanded Rs 20-30 lakh compensation to the deceased youths' kin and a probe by the CBI into the incident, along with an unconditional apology from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The deceased students, identified as Rajesh Sarkar and Tapas Barman, were part of the agitation organised by locals against the state-run Darvit School, which was recruiting three Urdu teachers. The protesters demanded the authorities to recruit teachers for Science, Political Science and other subjects, rather than focusing on the particular language.

The Bengal CM has put the onus on RSS-BJP for the killings, claiming that the students were not killed in police firing. The fatal shots were fired by unidentified goons, she said.

The BJP, however, has dismissed the charge. "Why doesn't she call for a CBI probe? That is what we have been demanding," said state BJP president Dilip Ghosh.

The CPI(M) has appealed for peace and calm in Islampur, adding that it should be inquired whether the protests organised on September 20 were motivated by the RSS. The party has also condemned the "misgovernance" of Banerjee, saying that Bengal had not seen such communal strife in the 34-year-rule of the Left Front.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 23, 2018 04:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).