Prophet Remark: 60 Arrested for Violence in Bengal; Internet Shutdown in 2 Districts; BJP Demands Central Forces | Key Updates

As many as 60 people were arrested on Saturday after violence rocked West Bengal’s Howrah district over controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad made by now-suspended BJP leaders Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal. The arrested persons have been booked for rioting, attempt to murder and causing damage to public properties, among others, police said. The district, around 16km from state capital Kolkata, saw a fresh bout of violence on Saturday during which protesters clashed with police and several public properties were damaged.

Internet services have been suspended in Howrah till June 13, and a similar clampdown was imposed in parts of Murshidabad till June 14 after violence erupted in the district on Saturday.

In Howrah, protesters on Friday resorted to stone-pelting, set police vehicles afire and ransacked public property during violent clashes with cops. Section 144 has also been imposed in several parts of the district, including Uluberia, Domjur and Panchla till June 15.

Here are the top updates from violence-hit Bengal:

1. Internet services have been suspended in Murshidabad’s Beldanga 1 block covering Beldanga Police Station area and Beldanga 2 block covering Rejinagar and Shaktipur Police Station areas till 6 AM on June 14.
2. A 7-member BJP delegation, led by state party chief Sukanta Majumdar, met Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar at Raj Bhavan at 7pm on Saturday in the wake of the violence. The governor has appealed to all to maintain peace and has urged the administration to sternly deal with law offenders.
3. Howrah was rocked by fresh bouts of violence on Saturday when clashes were reported from Panchla Bazaar area where several houses were torched. During the protests, agitators pelted police personnel with stones, leading to some cops sustaining injuries. A BJP office was also vandalised by the mob.
4. The violence in Howrah prompted action against SP of Howrah (Rural) Saumya Roy and police commissioner of Howrah (City) C Sudhakar, who were shunted out. The state administration named Praveen Tripathi, additional CP of Kolkata Police, the new commissioner of police of Howrah city, while Swathi Bhangalia, DCP (southwest) of Kolkata Police, was made the new SP of Howrah (rural).
5. BJP MP from Bengal, Saumitra Khan, on Saturday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, demanding immediate deployment of central forces in Howrah.
6. Senior BJP leader and co-in-charge of West Bengal, Amit Malviya said if the state government cannot act, the chief minister should allow the governor to deploy the Army.
7. Lambasting the Mamata Banerjee government, BJP national president JP Nadda, in a tweet in Hindi, said the government of Bengal “raises the spirits of criminals, gives shelter to anti-social elements, while on the other hand suppresses the voice of those fighting the people’s fight in a democratic manner”.
8. Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar and his aides were arrested on Saturday while trying to visit violence-affected areas in Howrah district. Majumdar was arrested from Vidyasagar Setu toll plaza in Howrah and taken to Lalbazar HQ of Kolkata Police. The BJP leader had earlier in the day claimed that police had erected barricades outside his residence in New Town on the north-eastern fringes of Kolkata as he was getting ready to leave for Howrah.
9. The ruling TMC, however, lashed out at the BJP, saying that the state government has effectively tackled the situation. Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said, “The BJP is trying to spread violence in the state. They are also trying to vitiate the atmosphere of Bengal and the country through their politics of hatred.”
10. Meanwhile, a college student was arrested in Murshidabad for a social media post that supported the inflammatory comment made by Nupur Sharma. The woman, a first-year undergraduate student, allegedly made the social media post on Friday evening, police said. Violent protests broke out in the Beldanga area, where she lives, demanding her arrest, with the agitators attacking her house, a police officer said. The protesters also attacked the Beldanga police station and started hurling stones at police personnel.

(With PTI inputs)

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