One killed ,fivehurtin clash on Ram Navami
Revellers, including minors, brandish weapons at the procession
KOLKATA/MIDNAPORE: A 50-yearold man died in West Bengal’s Purulia district on Sunday during a clash between the police and Bajrang Dal activists, while five others were injured, according to district police officials.
The activists were looking to take out an armed procession through Beldi village on the occasion of Ram Navami.
The deceased was identified by the police as Sheikh Shahjahan. Police superintendent of Purulia, Joy Biswas confirmed Sajahan’s death. “The police tried to stop those who tried to bring out armed processions which lead to clashes. Shahjahan, along with some other villagers got trapped in the clashes following which he received fatal injuries. He was rushed to a district hospital, where he was declared dead on Sunday afternoon,” he said.
“We have so far arrested 16 people in this connection. The situation at Beldi continues to be tense and huge police contingent has been deployed there,” he added.
Bajrang Dal activists also brought out a procession at Purulia town on Sunday morning, where minors were seen participating brandishing sharp swords and tridents. “Involving minors in an armed procession is a serious offence and those who are responsible for this should be punished. I have contacted the district magistrate and police personnel and requested them to take action,” said the chairman of the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Ananya Chatterjee. School children were also seen participating in a similar procession brought out by the BJP under the leadership of its national secretary Rahul Sinha.
Tension over the Ram Navami rallies started mounting on Sunday morning after state BJP president Dilip Ghosh called on his supporters to defy the state government’s ban on armed Ram Navami rallies.
“We will bring out procession with swords, tridents and mace throughout the state,” Ghosh said on Sunday morning. In the afternoon, he participated in one such procession Kharagpur in West Midnapore district, where he is the MLA. However, the procession ended peacefully.
However, at Chinsurah in Hooghly district, tension broke out after TMC supporters, lead by local councillor Sunil Malakar stopped BJP supporters from worshipping arms publicly. A minor scuffle broke out between the two groups. Rallies in Kolkata were not armed.
Meanwhile, TMC leaders also brought out separate rallies throughout the state. While the Trinamool leaders termed their celebrations a symbol of harmony among the people, the Sangh Parivar spearhead Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) termed the TMC’S participation as a “victory of the Hindus”.