Clashes, buses set on fire in Bengal; BJP calls off bandh ahead of time
Protesters set fire to buses, blocked highways and fought with the police as sporadic incidents of violence marked the 12-hour shutdown in Bengal on Wednesday called by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to protest against the death of two youths in alleged police firing in Islampur on September 20.
BJP Bengal unit Dilip Ghosh announced at a press conference that they are withdrawing the bandh at 4:15 pm, an hour and 45 mins ahead of the 6 pm announced earlier.
“We have made our point. BJP does not support bandhs in principle, but we were forced to call the shutdown to protest against extra-ordinary circumstances,” said Ghosh, who claimed Mamata Banerjee has called 73 bandhs as an opposition leader. Going by the vehicles and traffic on the roads and attendance at business establishments, the response to the bandh call was partial in some areas.
Industrial units in Haldia, Durgapur, Asansol and North 24 Parganas did not report disruptions. In Kolkata, markets and shops opened for business. Traffic, however, was thinner compared to that on working days.
Stone pelting incidents were reported in Shyambazar and Sealdah areas in Kolkata.
West Midnapore district police super Alok Rajoria said sub inspector Anil Lama had to be admitted to a hospital after he suffered injuries on his chest during a scuffle with bandh supporters.
“Bengal has not seen a more peaceful bandh. Buses plied but without passengers, schools were kept open but there were no students. As many as 95% shops were closed that TMC men tried to open,” said Dilip Ghosh.
He also alleged that police arrested more than 400 of BJP workers in Siliguri to make way for transport minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Ghosh remarked that Jamaat and SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India) are trying to convert Islampur and Chopra into Bangladesh.
Describing the bandh as
KOLKATA:
“unsuccessful”, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee claimed the people have rejected BJP’s call for a shutdown of the state. “In some offices, presence has been more than that on normal days. Educational institutions are also functioning normally. The bandh supporters have vandalised buses. But we grateful to the people of the state for continuing the pace of normal life,” chief minister Mamata Banerjee told TV channels from Milan, where she had gone of an official tour. She also instructed the police to hold the protesters accountable for vandalism on government and private property. BJP Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh distanced his party from the trouble and clashes on Wednesday. “If we wanted we could have set 10 buses on fire. It could well be that ruling party supporters themselves vandalised buses and set them on fire,” Ghosh told the media.
“The early morning train services of Eastern Railway’s Howrah and Sealdah divisions were partially affected as the bandh supporters either obstructed train movements or threw banana leaves on the overhead wires in different stations over various sections,” said a statement by Eastern Railway. However, normal services resumed in phases latest by 11 am.
The bandh was supported by all Sangh Parivar outfits including Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangha (RSS) that was accused by the chief minister for having a role in the trouble in the school in the first place.
In Mahishadal (East Midnapore district) and Taki (North 24 Parganas) BJP and Trinamool workers clashed. In Islampur, where the alleged police firing took place bandh supporters vandalised buses, set them on fire and placed burning car tyres on the roads to block traffic and fought with police.
A large contingent of policemen led by the district police superintendent and inspector general of police (North Bengal) went to the spot. Rakesh Nandi, a 13-year-old boy was rushed to a hospital in Murshidabad district when he sustained injuries when a part of a tear gas shell hit him in the back. Trouble ensued when police intervened when bandh supporters were seen coaxing shop owners to down their shutters in Satui market in Shaktipur in Murshidabad district. Cops fired tear gas shells.
“The boy has sustained bullet injury in police firing. It was not from a tear gas shell,” alleged BJP district president Gouri Shankar Ghosh. However, the boy’s father Nityananda Nandi said he was not sure whether it was a bullet injury.
Speaking to TV channels in Milan, chief minister Mamata Banerjee also instructed the police to hold the protesters accountable for vandalism on government and private property. BJP Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh distanced his party from the trouble and clashes on Wednesday. “We are observing a peaceful bandh. It could well be that ruling party supporters themselves vandalised buses and set them on fire,” Ghosh told the media. Rajya Sabha MP Roopa Ganguly, who led a procession in Kolkata, alleged that police shot the two youths in Islampur and then tried to cover up the incident in a hurried post mortem examination.
Clashes broke out between TMC and BJP supporters in West Midnapore, West Burdwan, South Dinajpur and North Dinajpur districts. Processions taken out by the BJP came face to face with those by ruling party supporters opposing the bandh.
The state government had issued a notification asking its employees to attend office on Wednesday as well as the day preceding and following it, failing which salary would be deducted and they would suffer breaks in service.
ADG, law and order, Anuj Sharma said 1,600 people were arrested under preventive sections while 50 were arrested under specific charges.