Bengal BJP Chief Arrested On Way To Violence-Hit Murshidabad, Released Later

The West Bengal Police on Wednesday afternoon made "preventive arrest" of BJP's state president and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar in Krishnanagar area in Nadia district when he was on his way to violence-hit Beldanga in adjoining Murshidabad to take stock of the situation there, a senior officer said.

The Union minister of state for education was later released on bail.

The action against Sukanta Majumdar was taken under Section 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which states that such arrests are made to prevent the commission of cognisable offences, he said.

"Majumdar's preventive arrest was made under Section 170 of BNSS. He was heading towards a place where prohibitory orders were in place," a senior officer of Krishnanagar Police District told PTI.

"I was trying to go to Beldanga to review the situation there. Our party workers have put up road blockades in other areas in protest against the police preventing us from going to Beldanga," Sukanta Majumdar said, soon after his arrest by Kotwali police station.

Following Sukanta Majumdar's arrest, BJP party activists staged protests in different parts of the state.

Earlier in the day, Sukanta Majumdar's convoy was stopped by the police while he was on his way to Beldanga, where around 17 people have been injured in clashes between two communities.

Police cited the imposition of prohibitory orders in the area and that the BJP leader's visit might have disrupted peace.

Clashes erupted between two communities in Beldanga on Saturday night over an objectionable message on a display board at a temporary gate erected for Kartik Puja.

A huge police team stopped Sukanta Majumdar's convoy at Krishnanagar, following which the BJP MP staged a sit-in.

"Police are saying that prohibitory orders have been imposed in the area, hence I cannot go there. They stopped me around 70 km from Beldanga. We are not going there to create any law and order situation. We have asked them to escort us to the DM or SP office, but they are unwilling to let us go there," Sukanta Majumdar told reporters.

According to a senior officer of Krishnanagar police district, Sukanta Majumdar was stopped as a precautionary measure since they feared his visit to Beldanga might have disrupted peace in the area.

"We cannot allow anyone to enter Beldanga as prohibitory orders have been imposed there. That is the reason Sukanta Majumdar was stopped today," the IPS officer told PTI.

At least 17 people have been injured and properties damaged in the clashes in Beldanga, following which the district administration imposed prohibitory orders and suspended internet services in the area.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)