Kolkata, March 15 – Police announced on Sunday that five more people have been arrested in connection with the clashes between supporters of the BJP and Trinamool Congress in Kolkata's Girish Park.
According to a senior officer of the Kolkata Police, the arrests were made after complaints were filed by both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP on Saturday night. It is worth noting that the Kolkata Police also registered a suo moto case regarding the incident.
Meanwhile, six police personnel have been discharged from the hospital, while two others are still receiving treatment there.
The Election Commission has sought a detailed report from Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar regarding the incident. The Commission has also requested a report on the attack on State Minister Shashi Panja's residence following the clashes.
The Election Commission further sought a detailed explanation as to why central paramilitary forces, which have already been deployed in the state for the upcoming Assembly elections, were not used to control the situation.
Ahead of PM Modi's rally on Saturday, stones were allegedly thrown at the residence of State Minister Shashi Panja in North Kolkata's Girish Park area. Trinamool workers claimed that BJP activists committed these acts while en route to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at the Brigade Parade Ground. The state minister alleged that she, too, was attacked during the incident. The BJP has issued a counter-allegation, claiming that Trinamool workers threw bricks at their activists as they were marching through Girish Park.
Not only that, the Girish Park area effectively turned into a battlefield centered on this incident. Immediately following the incident, a police force from the Bowbazar Police Station arrived at the scene. The Rapid Action Force (RAF) was also deployed. While attempting to bring the situation under control, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Bowbazar Police Station himself sustained injuries from bricks thrown during the clash; additionally, several other police personnel were also injured in the incident.
On Saturday night, the police arrested four people in connection with the clashes following nightlong operations. The West Bengal unit of the BJP has claimed that the action has been one-sided. The BJP has claimed that its supporters were targeted and tension was fueled by the ruling party activists who attacked a bus carrying supporters to PM Modi’s rally at Brigade Parade Ground in central Kolkata.
The city police started an investigation after registering an FIR and arresting four persons, three of whom are active BJP supporters, namely Krishanu Bose, Sunny Dey, and Charanjit Singh.
BJP councillor in Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Sajal Ghosh, has claimed that none of the three BJP supporters arrested in connection with the case was present anywhere near the places of trouble when the clashes broke out.
“I challenge Kolkata Police to release the CCTV footage. Let their mobile tower locations during the time of trouble also be released. The police, at the insistence of Trinamool Congress, have arrested them unnecessarily and also slapped attempted murder charges on them,” Ghosh said.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee condemned this development, in which Minister Dr Sashi Panja was reportedly injured, and said that it was not just an attack on a woman minister but also an attack on every woman in the state.
“This is the BJP’s culture. These outsiders want to import their politics of provocation to West Bengal. They want to destroy peace. They want to spread fear. This will neither be forgiven nor forgotten. West Bengal will not tolerate BJP’s saffron hooliganism,” said Banerjee.