Bengal: Police Resort To Lathicharge, Water Cannons To Disperse BJP Workers Protesting Against Mamata Govt

Police used water cannons against BJP workers in Barrackpore protesting against the West Bengal government over the law and order situation in the state.

New Delhi: West Bengal Police on Monday used water cannons and resorted to lathi-charge to disperse Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers protesting over the law and order situation in the state at Barrackpore in the North 24 Parganas. 

Party workers led by BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar staged a protest outside the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate, citing concerns over the alleged deterioration of the law and order situation in the area.

The BJP alleged that numerous party activists sustained injuries due to police aggression, while a senior officer contended that police actions were lawful and aimed at controlling the situation, reported PTI.

Reacting to the incident, state BJP President Sukanta Majumdar said, "We did a protest outside the CP office. Police used water cannons and tear gas, they lathi-charged and even pelted stones... This is a Taliban police working on the instructions of Mamata Banerjee... Women have been lathi-charged by policemen. Ashish Maurya is the police officer. We will go to the court against him..."

The BJP organized the rally to protest against multiple instances of murder in the Barrackpore industrial belt and alleged police inaction in curbing criminal activities.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee earlier today accused the BJP of threatening people to send central probe agencies to their homes if they do not vote for the saffron party in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

"The BJP is using central agencies for elections... it is threatening people over the phone to send Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths to their homes if they do not vote for the saffron party," Banerjee said at a public distribution programme in Cooch Behar.

The TMC supremo advised locals in Cooch Behar, particularly Rajbanshis, to ensure that their names are on the voters' list to "protect themselves" from the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA.

The West Bengal chief minister also asserted that she will not follow any diktat of the BJP to worship any particular god. "I follow Ramayana, Quran, Bible and Guru Granth Sahib... I do not do drama by visiting poor people's homes to eat food brought from outside," she said.