Prohibitory orders clamped in Bengal’s Hooghly after clashes during Ram Navami rally

PTI, Apr 3, 2023, 9:45 AM IST

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Kolkata: Prohibitory orders are in force in West Bengal’s Hooghly district, where clashes broke out between two groups during a Ram Navami procession, police said on Monday.

Internet services have also been suspended in some parts of the district till 10 pm on Monday, they said.

Two Ram Navami processions were organised in the Rishra police station area, and the second one came under attack near Wellington Jute Mill More on GT Road around 6.15 pm on Sunday, police said.

A few police personnel were injured in the violence, they said.

BJP vice-president Dilip Ghosh, who was part of the second procession, told PTI that people were walking peacefully to the Jagannath temple when stones were hurled at them.

Pursurah BJP MLA Biman Ghosh suffered injuries, he said.

A senior officer of the Chandannagar Police Commissionerate said, ”The procession was passing through a traditional route when a group started throwing stones at it. We took immediate steps to address the situation.” No person has yet been arrested in connection with the violence, she said.

Security has been bolstered in the area to prevent any further flare-up.

”Police are conducting route march, and prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 have been imposed in Rishra wards 1-5 and Serampore’s ward 24. Internet services will remain suspended in parts of Rishra and Serampore till 10 pm on Monday,” she said.

Meanwhile, Governor C V Ananda Bose said those behind the violence will be put behind bars.

”The miscreants, the hooligans, and the thugs will be crushed with an iron hand. Mobocracy cannot derail democracy. The state is determined to put an end to this arson and looting,” he said.

Condemning the violence, the state’s Industry Minister Shashi Panja alleged that the BJP was trying to destroy peace and tranquility in the state.

”BJP is known for vandalism of public property, and triggering communal riots all over the country,” she said.

The state government will firmly deal with the situation and take necessary action to punish the perpetrators, Panja said.

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Joyprakash Majumdar also questioned the need to organise the processions two days after Ram Navami.

”Why are they so hell-bent on taking out Ram Navami processions during the holy month of Ramzan? The BJP wants to engineer riots in Bengal to create instability for political gains,” he told PTI.

Majumdar claimed that some participants in the rally were carrying weapons such as swords, which created panic among people.

Violence during Ram Navami celebrations had rocked parts of neighbouring Howrah district on Thursday and Friday, leading to the arrest of 45 people.