3 BJP MLAS HELD FOR VIOLATING COVID LOCKDOWN IN WEST BENGAL

Three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators on Sunday were arrested in Siliguri town for violating restrictions amid the coronavirus-induced 15-day lockdown, police said. The trio were released later on personal bonds, they added.

Sankhar Ghosh (Siliguri), Sikha Chatterjee (Dabgram-Fulbari) and Anandamoy Burman (Matigara-Naxalbari) were detained while they were staging a sit-in demonstration at Hafdar Hashmi Chowk, demanding better handling of healthcare facilities. They were subsequently arrested. “The administration has failed to tackle the pandemic,” Ghosh said. “The three legislators were arrested because there is a ban on political assembly,” an officer from Siliguri police station said on the condition of anonymity. Former Trinamool Congress (TMC) minister Gautam Deb said: “The BJP MLAs acted irresponsibly only to be in the news.”