The Union Home Ministry on Wednesday said central forces have been deployed in West Bengal to assist the state police in maintaining law and order during Hanuman Jayanti, PTI reported. Hanuman Jayanti festival will be celebrated across the country on April 6.
Paramilitary forces have been deployed in three districts of Hooghly, Barrackpore and Kolkata. The MHA also asked all states to ensure law and order during the festival in the wake of communal violence in Bengal and Bihar during Ram Navami.
"There will be an ample number of state police forces deployed at sensitive areas in the state and also at those places where violence was witnessed recently, Apart from that, we have decided to deploy three companies of paramilitary forces in Kolkata, Hooghly and Barrackpore," a senior government official told PTI.
Calcutta HC Asks Mamata Govt To Requisition Central Forces
Earlier in the day, the Calcutta High Court directed the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government to requisition central forces for assisting the state police in maintaining peace during Hanuman Jayanti celebrations.
The development comes in the wake of a series of incidents of communal violence reported in Bengal's Howrah and Hooghly districts on the occasion of Ram Navami on March 30-April 1.
The HC said the police will have the discretion to restrict the route of any procession on Hanuman Jayanti considering the "unpleasant" events that have taken place.
Additional CCTV cameras will have to be installed and videography has to be done at vantage areas through which the processions pass, the court said, as per a PTI report.
Mamata Urges People To Mark Hanuman Jayanti Peacefully
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has claimed there are plans afoot for another round of violence in the state on Thursday durung Hanuman Jayanti and urged everyone to maintain peace.
"Tomorrow is Hanuman Jayanti. I will urge everybody to celebrate it peacefully. There will be no problem if peace is observed. Bengal is the land of peace," Banerjee told reporters.
The TMC supremo has been alleging that BJP was behind the recent incidents of clashes in Howrah and Hooghly districts during Ram Navami celebrations.
VHP Says Hanuman Jayanti Processions Will Be Held At Over 500 Places
Meanwhile, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has decided to conduct 500 Hanuman Jayanti programmes across Bengal on Thursday.
VHP national assistant secretary Sachindranath Singha said no weapons would be carried during the processions
"Around 500 small programmes would be organised across the state. We won't take out too many rallies and only a few will be held. No weapons will be carried during the rallies," he said.