New Delhi: A video of Sikh man being manhandles by the West Bengal police on Friday sparked a controversy after it went viral on social media. In the video, the turbaned man was seen being beaten up by the state police personnel even as his turban came off. He was also seen being pulled by his hair.

The controversial video went viral after the person, identified as Balwinder Singh, the personal security guard of BJP leader Priyangu Pandey, was held by the police during BJP’s protest march to the state secretariat Nabanna on Thursday.

BJP National Secretary, Arvind Menon, took to Twitter to condemn the incident. “By pulling the turban of Sardar Balwinder Singh ji, Bengal Police has insulted all the Sikhs of the country, today it seems that Mughal rule has been established again in Bengal. Was there no respect for the religious sentiments of anyone except a particular community in Bengal?,” he said.

The West Bengal Police claimed that Balvinder Singh was illegally carrying a weapon during the protest. “Person was carrying firearms. Turban fell off automatically in scuffle without any attempt to do so by our officer. We respect all religions. Officer specifically asked him to put his Pagri back before arrest: West Bengal Police on video of Sikh man at BJP’s NabannoCholo rally,” it tweeted.

BJP state unit President Dilip Ghosh had maintained that it was a licensed weapon and the person had all valid documents for carrying the firearm. “The police should release him as he is a security person and was carrying a licensed weapon,” Ghosh had said during a press conference on Thursday.

Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh on Friday took to Twitter to express his dissatisfaction over the incident. He retweeted the viral video and tagged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in his post, saying: “Please have a look into this matter @MamataOfficia l. This isn’t done.”