Vehicles were torched as ruckus erupted during a Ram Navami procession in Howrah in West Bengal, ANI reported. Several police personnel have been deployed in the area. Another police team conducted a flag march after ruckus broke out.
Visuals showed several vehicles engulfed in flames and a heavy police deployment, including riot control force, in the area. A police van and a car with their glasses smashed were also seen in the videos tweeted by ANI.
Reacting to the incident, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of hiring goons from outside the state to orchestrate communal riots.
"They have been hiring goons from outside the state to orchestrate communal riots. Nobody has stopped their processions but they do not have the right to march with swords and bulldozers. How did they get the audacity to do this in Howrah?" ANI quoted Banerjee as saying.
The development comes even as West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee urged the people of the state to celebrate Ram Navami in a peaceful manner and refrain from any kind of violence while taking out processions.
"I want to request those who are taking out Ram Navami procession, please do but do it peacefully. Kindly avoid Muslim areas as Ramzan is going on. Celebrate peacefully but don't try to create violence. Don't get provoked. Some BJP leaders are saying they will move with swords and knives during the procession. I say criminal offence is an offence," ANI quoted CM Mamata Banerjee as saying.
Violence during Ram Navami celebrations is not a new affair in West Bengal. The past few years have seen isolated incidents of violence on this occasion, especially in the Howrah region.
In 2022, two incidents of violence during Ram Navami celebration in Bengal's Howrah and Bankura led to injuries to 20 people, including six police personnel. Over 30 people were arrested following the incidents.
Earlier in the day, leaders of the BJP and RSS took out Ram Navami processions in different parts of the state.
The RSS organised 1,000 large and small processions across the state on the occasion, spokesperson Sourish Mukhopadhyay told PTI. Thousands of people, chanting 'Jai Shri Ram', took part in those processions in Howrah, Kharagpur, Barrackpore, Bhadreswar, Siliguri and Asansol.
While BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh performed puja at the 300-year-old Ram Mandir in Ramrajatala, Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar led Ram Navami processions in Itahar in Uttar Dinajpur and Balurghat in Dakshin Dinajpur district.
"Ramrajatala is named after Lord Ram but the TMC and Left want to teach us that Ram is not the culture of Bengal. Ram is an outsider according to them," Dilip Ghosh said.
Leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari participated in a Ram Navami procession in his constituency Nandigram in Purba Medinipur, and offered puja at the Janakinath temple.
(With PTI inputs)