We in Bengal do not beat or torch people to death: Mamata

Kolkata, Dec 13 : Referring to the brutal killing of a Bengali labourer in Rajasthan last week, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said the people of her state neither support nor engage in such activities.

"We don't beat people to death in Bengal. We don't torch people alive. Bengal always refrains from such practices. We know how to welcome everyone irrespective of their religion and caste," Banerjee claimed at a public meeting in Bankura district's Indrapur.

In a veiled reference to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), she said dividing people on religious lines and loving one's country couldn't go hand in hand.

"Some leaders in Delhi are busy lecturing people while Dalits are being attacked in Gujarat. Such things never happen in Bengal. Hindus, Muslims, Christians -- everyone should be equally loved and protected. Those who believe in dividing people, do not love their country," the Trinamool Congress supremo added.

She appealed to the people of Bengal to ensure peaceful co-existence of all communities and groups as they did in the past.

A Muslim labourer from Bengal -- Mohammad Afrazul -- was hacked with sharp weapons and later burnt to death last week evoking nationwide condemnation.

The accused, later arrested by the police, also had his nephew video tape the entire incident of the killing where he alleged that Afrazul was indulging in "love Jihad" on girls from Rajasthan.