200 arrested in 42 cases on violent protests, says top cop

ADGP(law and order) Jawed Shamim stressed that the administration had acted tough to control the situation in Howrah, Murshidabad and Nadia

A deserted Bethuadahari town in Nadia district during the first day of a 72 hour bandh on Monday.  : Pranab Debnath

Pranesh Sarkar   |   TT  |  Calcutta   |  14.06.22  : The Mamata Banerjee government on Monday claimed that it had made more than 200 arrests and registered 42 cases in connection with violent protests in different parts of the state against derogatory comments made by now-axed BJP spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Navin Jindal on Prophet Mohammed.

Additional director-general of police (law and order) Jawed Shamim, who shared what the force had done on the ground, stressed that the administration had acted tough to control the situation in Howrah, Murshidabad and Nadia — the three districts that erupted over the past 72 hours or so — and the law enforcers would gather evidence to press charges against trouble-mongers.

“So far, more than 200 people have been arrested in 42 specific cases lodged so far. The figure will increase as police officers are investigating each of the cases and trying to find out those involved in these incidents,” Shamim told a news conference at Nabanna.

He made it clear that the unrest had been dealt with properly and the situation was returning to normal in most areas.

“No incident was reported in the state on Monday. Internet service has been restored in Howrah. But Section 144 of CrPC will be in place for another three days as a precautionary measure,” said Shamim, who took care to explain that not a single life had been lost in the violent protests.

The manner in which the police officer shared the details, multiple sources said, was aimed at countering the BJP’s narrative that the state government had been a failure in controlling violence in different parts of the state.

Several senior leaders of the saffron party — like opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari — had sought deployment of the army and the paramilitary forces in troubled areas to bring the situation under control.

A petition for deployment of the army was moved before a division bench headed by Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava in Calcutta High Court on Monday.

The line of argument by advocate general S.N. Mukherjee during the hearing was very similar to what Shamim had said at the news conference. On hearing the AG, the Chief Justice issued an order asking the state government to take the assistance of the army or central forces if it felt necessary.

“They always try to get the Centre involved in law-and-order issues related to the state by approaching the courts.… It was another face loss for the BJP in the courtroom,” said a source.

While the development in the courtroom brought a sense of relief to Nabanna, multiple sources in the administration said a clear message for public at large that the police had acted tough and it would spare none was the need of the hour in view of the political game plan that the BJP had allegedly been drawing up to embarrass the state government.

“The BJP’s plan is to play the divisive card by first discrediting the administration by accusing it of incompetence and then profiling the protesters to stress that the Trinamul government doesn’t dare to take action against one community,” said a source.

“This is a dangerous game as it has the potential to foment more trouble... The message that no one will be spared is likely to reassure people at large,” added the source.

The fact that the state administration has decided to act tough on vandals was corroborated by several sources in the bureaucracy referring to a message that the Nabanna top brass had sent to district magistrates and police chiefs on Monday evening.

“It has been communicated in no uncertain terms that violence will not be tolerated and the vandals will have to be booked without showing any mercy,” said a source.