BJP supporters clashed with the police at a protest in Bengal on Thursday.
Viral visuals of the police wrestling a Sikh man to the ground during the BJP's mega protest in Kolkata's twin city Howrah on Thursday during a protest march have set off a major controversy with the party accusing the police of hurting religious sentiments by pulling off the turban of 43-year-old Balwinder Singh, a resident of Bhatinda. Responding the controversy hours after it erupted, the West Bengal Police said it never intended to hurt the sentiments of any community. There was a struggle to seize a pistol in Mr Singh's possession and the turban, police said, fell off "automatically".
The controversy gathered so much momentum on social media on Friday, 24 hours after the incident, with multiple BJP leaders tweeting about it, even cricketer Harbhajan Singh tweeted, tagging Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, to say, "Please look into the matter. This just isn't done".
Shiromani Akali Dal, too, demanded that Mamata Banerjee take action against the policemen responsible for the attack on Mr Singh, who has been sent to police custody till Monday.
A 9 mm pistol was seized from Mr Singh who provided a gun licence after his arrest that identified him as a former soldier with Rashtriya Rifles in Rajouri in Jammu and Kashimir. BJP leader Dilip Ghosh, when asked about it on Thursday, had said Mr Singh was the security of a BJP leader.
In the night tweet, the West Bengal Police defended its actions and shared a photo saying they ensured Mr Singh had his turban back on before being arrested.
The concerned person was carrying firearms in yesterday's protest. The Pagri had fallen off automatically in the scuffle that ensued,without any attempt to do so by our officer (visible in the video attached). It is never our intention to hurt the sentiments of any community(1/2) pic.twitter.com/aE8UgN36W5
— West Bengal Police (@WBPolice) October 9, 2020
West Bengal Police respects all religions. The officer specifically asked him to put his Pagri back before the arrest. The attached photo has been clicked right before he was escorted to the Police Station. We remain committed to our duty to uphold law and order in the state(2/2) pic.twitter.com/BnTWztfDGW
— West Bengal Police (@WBPolice) October 9, 2020
Trinamool Congress leader Firhad Hakim, said, "We have never seen bombs and guns being used in political rallies. If you carry a pistol in a rally, what do you expect. Police has to do its job."
Videos of his clash with the police went viral on Friday, a day after the incident took place, which show Mr Singh's turban falling off as the police wrestle him to the ground.
Plz have a look into this matter @MamataOfficial this isn't done ???????? https://t.co/mKrbQhn1qy
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 9, 2020
कलकत्ता में सेक्युरिटी ऑफिसर बलविंदर सिंह की पगड़ी खींचकर, सड़क पर घसीट कर बर्बर तरीके से पीटा जाना बेहद शर्मनाक और निंदनीय है@MamataOfficial जी से हमारी माँग- दोषी पुलिसवालों के खिलाफ 295A मुकदमा का दर्ज किया जाये और सख़्त सजा दी जाये@ANi @TimesNow @republic @ABPNews pic.twitter.com/BKWkS7Hcyv
— #Istandwithfarmers Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) October 9, 2020
Yeh tasweer dekhke mai stabdh hoon !! Agar yeh kiya hai Bengal police ne (Sab kehe rehe hain ke yeh sach hai) toh unki exemplary saaza honi chahiye aur @TajinderBagga Bhai, mai aapse yeh kahunga ke iss ghatna ko lekar aap Court jaiye #FaltuDidirPaltuPolice #BanglarLojjaMamata https://t.co/YBQDT1TSxr
— Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) October 9, 2020
सुरक्षाकर्मी बलविंदर सिंह को पश्चिम बंगाल पुलिस ने सड़क पर पीटा और उसकी पगड़ी को अपमानित किया, वो सक्षम जवान है! उसने कई सैन्य कोर्स भी किए हैं!
— Kailash Vijayvargiya (@KailashOnline) October 9, 2020
ममता राज में ऐसे जांबाज का अपमान दु:खद है। ऐसे पुलिसवालों को सजा दी जाना चाहिए! pic.twitter.com/M1J8S7R9Yn
Hundreds of BJP protesters clashed with the police on their way to the Bengal government secretariat "Nabanna" on Friday, throwing to the winds safety measures for COVID-19, including social distancing. Visuals from the spot showed police dressed in riot gear trying to disperse the crowd with tear gas and water cannons as stones were thrown from the other side.
The BJP held the "Nabanna Chalo" (Let's go to Nabanna) protest defying the government's orders banning large gatherings. New BJP youth wing chief Tejasvi Surya flew down to the city to take part in the protest, which was seen as the party's show of strength in the state.
Post-noon, the BJP had held four marches all of which were making their way towards the state secretariat. One of the biggest from Howrah Maidan was led by Bankura MP Saumitra Khan and BJP's Yuva Morcha Tejasvi Surya who had flown in for the protest.
The protesters were stopped midway, prompting angry BJP supporters to attack the police with stones. When they tried to pull down the barricades, the police responded with teargas shells.
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