West Bengal: Ruckus, stone pelting erupt during BJP Shobha Yatra

KOLKATA: Ruckus and stone pelting erupted during the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Shobha yatra in Hooghly on Sunday.

On Thursday, a case was registered against Goshamahal legislator, T Raja Singh at Shahinyathgunj police station for allegedly provoking the public to disturb the peaceful atmosphere during the Sri Ram Navami Shobha Yatra held in the city.

"A case was registered against BJP suspended MLA T Raja Singh for his alleged hate speech during Ram Navami Shobha Yatra in Hyderabad. He was booked U/s 153-A, 506 IPC at Afzalgunj Police station," Afzalgunj Inspector M Ravindar Reddy told ANI.

On Friday, Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani launched an attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the violence during a Ram Navami procession in Howrah and accused her of giving clean chit to those who pelted stones during the procession.

"Stone pelting happened during Ram Navami's procession in Howrah. Instead of delivering justice Mamata Bandopadhyay (Banerjee) gave a clean chit to stone pelters who took the law into their hands and attacked the Shobha Yatra of Ram Navami," Irani had alleged.

"The question is how long will Mamata keep attacking the Hindu community..." she had added. Irani further stated, "This is not the first event that happened during the term of Mamata. Earlier in 2022, on Lakshmi Puja, when Dalits were performing puja they were attacked. At that time also she was quiet."

Earlier on Thursday, several vehicles were set on fire after two groups clashed in Howrah amid Ram Navami celebrations.

During the procession, the rioters vandalized public and private properties and set vehicles on fire.

Following the violence in Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations, the West Bengal government on Friday handed over the probe to Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

A special team led by Inspector General of Police, CID Sunil Choudhury has initiated the investigation

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also earlier spoke to West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and took stock of the situation in Howrah where violence broke out.

Shah also called West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar and enquired about the law and order situation in the state.

West Bengal BJP chief on Friday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into violence in Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations.

Following the violence in West Bengal's Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations, the Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Friday filed a PIL in Calcutta High Court seeking an NIA probe into the matter and immediate deployment of Central Forces in the violence-affected areas.