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By Anirban Sinha Roy: Members of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal traded barbs after the Calcutta High Court ordered a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the Ram Navami violence on Thursday.
Reacting to the court order, TMC MLA Shashi Panja accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of orchestrating the violence on Ram Navami.
“It is clear they have orchestrated it. Our CM has previously stated that many such situations have occurred in the past in places such as Gujarat, despite severe incidents, there you won’t find the NIA. But in Bengal, even if a firework explodes, the NIA is called in,” said Shashi Panja. She further added, “BJP is trying to garner political vantage, and so they stoke communal tension.”
ALSO READ | Calcutta HC orders NIA probe into Ram Navami violence in West Bengal
Sharpening her attack against the BJP, the TMC MLA said, “Look at the unfolding of events, it is so clear. The BJP plans and executes this kind of situation on the Ram Navami procession, and they go to the court or the central government asking for an NIA probe.”
“They are the ones who are stoking communal tension, and then they are asking for an NIA probe. This is the chronology that people of Bengal shall observe,” said Shashi Panja in cognizance of the violence in Howrah, Hooghly and Dalkhola during Ram Navami this year.
BJP’s REACTION ON COURT ORDER
Taking to Twitter, Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumder welcomed the court order and said, “Welcome the Calcutta HC decision to transfer the violence incidents happened on Ram Navami in WB to NIA. These riots were pre-planned and instigated with the support of TMC govt. It was triggered by the inflammatory speech of the CM.”
THE INCIDENT
On March 31, incidents of violence were reported in West Bengal’s Howrah. Incidents of stone pelting were reported in the district, prompting authorities to impose prohibitory orders to maintain law and order. Several vehicles were torched and shops were vandalised.
Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, the Calcutta High Court, comprised of ACJ T S Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmoy Bhattacharya ordered the transfer of investigation to the NIA from the West Bengal Police.
ALSO READ | Ram Navami clashes: Section 144 imposed in Bengal, Bihar districts; arrests in Maha, Gujarat
According to the court order, all affected police stations must turn over all records, FIRs, and CCTV footage to the NIA within two weeks of receiving approval from the central government. The NIA will then begin an investigation into the Ram Navami incident.
(With inputs from Arindam Bhattacharya)
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