Man Seen In Viral Video Holding Gun At Bengal Ram Navami Rally Arrested

West Bengal police have arrested a 19-year-old for allegedly carrying a weapon during the Ram Navami procession. Sumit Shaw, who was seen with a gun in a video going viral on social media, was arrested from Munger in Bihar today.

According to police sources, Shaw has confessed to carrying a firearm during the Ram Navami rally.

A video shared on Twitter by Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee shows a religious procession in which a young man was seen holding a firearm.

BJP's DANGABAJI FORMULA at work again:

🧨 Provoke & instigate communities against each other.

💣 Supply weapons to incite violence.

⚔️Create communal tension deliberately.

🤹🏼🎁 Reap political benefits.

A classic unholy blueprint right out of the @BJP4India playbook!👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/HKZ0BmIlCm

— Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) March 31, 2023

NDTV cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video.

BJP, responding to Mr Banerjee's tweet, claimed that the video is not from the Ram Navami rally which was organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Bengal's Howrah.

VHP, the organisers of the Ramnavami Shobha Yatra in Howrah, release footage and allege that the video posted by TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee is not from their Yatra. He is maligning Hindus and should be investigated for dividing people on religious lines. It is a criminal offence. https://t.co/sNfWxZF9oE pic.twitter.com/v8YCNzi7QU

— BJP Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) April 3, 2023

Communal clashes broke out in Hooghly and Howrah during Ram Navami rallies. Several vehicles were set on fire on Thursday last week after two groups clashed in Howrah. Several shops were ransacked during the violence while a number of cars, including a few police vehicles, were set on fire. Police had to use tear gas shells to bring the situation under control.

Police personnel deployed in the area were pelted with stones on Friday afternoon following which prohibitory orders were imposed in the area and internet services were suspended.

The violent clashes have sparked a political slugfest between the ruling Trinamool and the BJP. Bengal government has suspended Internet services and put prohibitory orders in place in the violence-hit districts.