New Delhi: West Bengal Police on Tuesday arrested Sumit Shaw from Munger for carrying a weapon during the Ram Navami procession in Howrah, according to sources.
According to police, he confessed his participation in the procession with firearms during interrogation.
The development after massive violence had erupted at Shibpur in Howrah during the Ram Navami procession on March 30. During the procession, the rioters vandalised public and private properties and set vehicles on fire. Following the violence, the West Bengal government on Friday handed over the probe to Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Friday told the media, "People were carrying guns and swords in the Ram Navami procession. Shops and materials of small vendors were vandalised and torched. What form of a procession is this? They were insanely playing DJ. Is it the way Ram Navami is celebrated? Which ritual is this? We have lived in Bengal for so long, but we have never seen anything like this. I might be lying, but these videos won’t lie.”
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 Calcutta High Court on Monday ordered the Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal government to submit a comprehensive report on the violence that took place at Shibpur in Howrah during and after the Ram Navami procession on March 30.
Acting Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, who was presiding over a division bench, directed the state government to file a comprehensive report on the violence on April 5. The court said the report must include details of the incident and all the required steps taken to ensure peace in the affected region in adjoining Howrah city, as reported by the news agency PTI.
Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya was also on the bench, which ordered the West Bengal government to submit CCTV and video footage pertaining to the incidents of violence in the state.
In 2022, two incidents of violence during the 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.