Despite the lockdown, hundreds of people protested on the streets on Saturday in Salar area of Murshidabad district of West Bengal and torched the ration shop owner named Halim Sheikh’s house amidst allegations of indulging in malpractices. The angry mob threw out his belongings on the road and torched them too. The people who came out in protest were mostly poor and needy people.
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The people were protesting for the smooth supply of government ration which is meant for the poor, which people allege was being hoarded up by Sheikh and he was selling half of the ration which was illegal. There has been no reaction from State government authorities on the incident.
The West Bengal government has announced 2kg of rice and 3kg of wheat per month for each ration holder. There have been reports of hoarding in various parts of the state during the lockdown.
The BJP has been claiming that Trinamool Congress(TMC) leaders have been hoarding the food supply illegally while the Left Front too has come out onto the streets in recent weeks in protest against malpractices in the public distribution system(PDS).
The TMC in retaliation came out with videos of food grains being hoarded in BJP party offices in various parts of the state.