Violent protests erupt in Kolkata, Howrah during BJP's secretariat march
Kolkata/Howrah: Parts of Kolkata and adjoining Howrah resembled a battle zone on Thursday as BJP workers and supporters clashed with police, hurling stones and blocking roads with burning tyres, to protest a string of killings of saffron party workers.
Clashes erupted at several places during the march called by Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP, to Nabanna, the state secretariat, when they tore down barricades, officials said.
Police personnel in riot gear burst teargas shells, beat up agitators and used water cannons to break up the protests which are still raging in the two cities.
Several BJP activists, including some senior leaders, were injured. It was still not known whether police personnel were also injured.
Thick plumes of smoke from discarded tyres that the protesters set on fire to block traffic blackened the sky and streets were littered with stones. Shops and other business establishments hurriedly downed their shutters during the skirmishes.
Thousands of slogan-shouting BJP workers from Kolkata and Howrah began marching towards Nabanna at around 12.30 PM.
Parts of Howrah district witnessed much of the violence where BJYM national president and Bengaluru South MP Tejaswi Surya along with state president Soumitra Khan led a march from Howrah Maidan.
They were stopped at the Mallick Gate, prompting angry BJP supporters to attack police with stones. When the protesters tried to pull down the barricades, police burst teargas shells.
Failing to quell the rampaging crowds of BJP workers, personnel of Rapid Action Force (RAF) baton-charged them, resulting in injuries to some of the protesters.
An unspecified number of agitators were detained.
Police claimed they recovered a loaded pistol from one of the protesters. It also alleged BJP workers lobbed crude bombs at police, an accusation rejected by the saffron party as false.
Police used teargas, water cannons and batons to break up the protest at Santragachi which was led by the party's state secretary Sayantan Basu.
The anti-riot police also used chemical-laced water cannons to disperse the violent protesters, officials said. During the clashes, Raju Banerjee and MP Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato were injured. Banerjee was shifted to a hospital.
Similar scenes were witnessed at the third protest march led by BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and national vice-president Mukul Roy at Hastings-Khidderpore crossing in Kolkata.
After BJP workers fought pitched battles with police, Vijayvargiya and Roy bagan a sit-in at the Hastings crossing.
"We were holding a peaceful march but police action turned it into a violent agitation. The police and TMC goons attacked us. It's all happening because of the dictatorial attitude of Mamata Banerjee," Vijayvargiya told reporters.
Similar chaotic scenes unfolded at the bustling Burrabazar in Kolkata where BJP state president Dilip Ghosh was leading the march. BJP national secretary Arvind Menon was injured during the scuffle.
Nearly 5,000 police and RAF personnel have been deployed in the disturbed areas.
West Bengal has seen a string of political killings in the last few months, including those of BJP workers. A local BJP leader Manish Shukla was killed at Titagarh in North 24 Parganas district a few days ago, triggering protests in several parts of the state. He was considered close to BJP strongman and Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh.
Shulka's killing was the immediate trigger for Thursday's protest which was called against the alleged worsening law and order situation.
The TMC government had on Wednesday declined permission for the protest march citing the Pandemic Act. It had also declared the state secretariat closed for two days from October 8 for "sanitisation"
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
