KOLKATA: Ram Navami celebrations claimed a life in Bengal on Sunday as politicians sought to outdo each other in proving their devotion to one of the foremost icons of the Hindu pantheon, Lord Ram.
Sheikh Shahjahan, 55, of Purulia’s Bhursa village was killed when he was attacked by a mob while he was relieving himself near the village pond on Sunday. ADG (law and order) Anuj Sharma said four policemen, including DSP (headquarters) Subrata Kumar Pal, were injured when they tried to intervene. Pal and his security guard, both in serious condition, were being brought to Kolkata for treatment.
Police said this was in retaliation to an attack on a Ram Navami procession that happened a few hours earlier. “There was a
BJP procession in the village and it took permission, but it deviated from the route agreed on,” said a senior officer. When some unidentified persons set bikes of the rallyists on fire, clashes erupted among the groups, and 17 people were detained.
In North 24-Parganas, a police outpost in Jagaddal was ransacked, leaving several injured. Another clash occurred in Hooghly’s Chinsurah, but, elsewhere in Bengal, Trinamool Congress successfully hijacked what was meant to be a “saffron” show.
Defying the ban on carrying weapons in public, several armed rallies were taken out by Sangh affiliates in various parts of the state, including Birbhum, West Midnapore, Howrah and certain areas in Kolkata. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh briefly held a sword; Locket Chatterjee was seen carrying a trident; and BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha brandished a weapon.
“Arms are nothing but symbols,” said BJP’s Mukul Roy. “No one carries arms in rallies to indulge in fights. The Trinamool government is trying to create a controversy over the Ram Navami armed rallies."
