Road, rail traffic disrupted in Bengal; fresh scuffles between cops and BJP workers
Kolkata: BJP activists blocked road and rail traffic at several places on Monday during a 12-hour bandh called by the party in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district to protest attacks on its leaders, police said.
Governor Jagdeep Dhankar, meanwhile, visited BJP MP from Barrackpore Arjun Singh, who is recuperating at a private hospital after he suffered injuries during a protest on Sunday, and expressed concern over the law and order situation in the state.
"I was in Delhi. I cut short my visit to meet Arjun Singh this morning as there has been a serious incident. I am worried at the moment," Dhankar told reporters.
Shops and other business establishments remained closed during the day, causing inconvenience to people. Fresh scuffles broke out between police and BJP workers at Lakuthi and on Barrackpore-Barasat Road when protesters tried to forcibly cross barricades.
According to a senior officer at Barrackpore Police Commissionerate, some BJP workers and policemen were injured in the melee. Naihati-Chinsurah ferry services were also affected as agitators demonstrated at jetties. The BJP on Sunday gave a call for a 12-hour bandh to protest alleged attacks on its leaders, including the Sunday's assault on MP Arjun Singh.
Singh claimed Barrackpore police commissioner Manoj Verma struck him, causing a gash on his head, while he and his supporters were holding a "peaceful protest" at Kankinara in the district against the "capture" of its party office by Trinamool Congress (TMC) activists.
After meeting Singh, the governor said,"I am in pain looking at all this violence. I feel pain when something happens to teachers, doctors, lawyers and journalists."
West Bengal is witnessing an unending spiral of violence since the Lok Sabha polls. In the northern fringes of Kolkata, state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh was reportedly heckled by the ruling party supporters on Friday.
On the same day, Bongaon North MLA Biswajit Das, who recently switched over to the BJP from the TMC, was also allegedly assaulted, while he was on his way to the Assembly.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
