Policemen patrolling Dinhata on Wednesday

Cooch Behar, Feb. 6: Indra- jit fell to a police bullet yester- day. Paramita drank pesticide today.

Eighteen-year-old Paramita (name changed) has survived the suicide bid.

She was in love with the 25-year-old vocational teacher of tailoring, Indrajit Chakraborty, for the past six months.

Their parents had fixed their wedding next month, said Forward Bloc leader Nripen Roy.

Paramita lives at Dakshin Bharali, which falls in Sitai, cut off from Dinhata town by the Singamari river.

The only motorable road from Sitai to Dinhata is a detour of 60km.

Farmer Manik Mukherjee’s daughter “could not bear the loss”, said Biswanath Dey Amin, a district Bloc leader.

A doctor treated her at home this morning.

Indrajit, a Bloc whole-timer, cleared the School Service Commission test and got the job of a vocational teacher a few months ago.

He worked at Sitai High School. “He used to speak al lot about making pretty dresses for Paramita and their marriage,” said one of his party colleagues.

An officer of the Sitai police station said: “We heard of a suicide attempt in the morning but no information has come to us.”

Indrajit left behind his septuagenarian father Nanigopal. “Nanigopal is shouting Indrajit’s name and insisting on seeing him. He knows his son was injured. We don’t know how he will react when he sees the body,” a Bloc supporter said.

The toll in yesterday’s violence went up to six today with the death of a member of the National Volunteers Force (NVF), who was beaten up by Bloc supporters in front of the Dinhata subdivisional office.

Krishnakanta Barman, 55, died this morning.

Four of the Bloc workers shot dead by the police had been identified yesterday. The fifth was Nirode Roy, 25, a farmer, the police said today.

Bloc supporters blocked roads in the district and burnt effigies of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, blaming him and his police department for yesterday’s violence.

There was tension in the air in the evening when Bloc leaders arrived here with the bodies of three of the victims from MJN Hospital.

Supporters screaming “kill them” at accompanying policemen had to be pacified by senior leaders.

The bodies of Indrajit Mukherjee and Nirode Roy were taken directly to Gossainmari from Cooch Behar. Those of Pradip Barman, Swapan Mahanta and Niren Haldar were brought to the party office here before being taken away for cremation.

Cooch Behar superintendent of police Anil Kumar said: “We followed every norm before opening fire. Those on duty were experienced men.”

However, Kumar added that there were only 150 policemen and NVF personnel on duty in front of the subdivisional office.

Dinhata SDO Debabrata Chakrabarty has lodged a police complaint, said Kumar. “We have made some arrests,” he added, but did not reveal how many persons were named in the FIR. Sources said Bloc leader Udayan Guha’s name featured in the FIR.

The chief minister today ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. The police have started an independent probe, Kumar said.

During the day, many visitors went around the subdivisional office and court complex to take a look at the scene of bloodshed.

They quickly dispersed when a procession of around 400 Bloc supporters led by Guha came into sight.