"Will never allow forces of darkness to take society to ransom": West Bengal Guv on violence

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 4 : Condemning the incidents of violence, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Tuesday said strict action will be taken against wrongdoers.

His statement comes on the heels of a fresh incident of stone-pelting in the Rishra town of Hooghly district on Monday evening, forcing the Eastern Railway to suspend all local and mail express train services operating to and from Rishra railway station.

Addressing a press conference in Salt Lake, an urban township, Bose said the people of Bengal have suffered a lot and their rights to live peacefully will be established at any cost.

"We will never allow forces of darkness to take society to ransom. We will take strict action against wrongdoers. People have the right to a peaceful living and that right will be established at any cost," he said.

Later in the day, Governor Bose arrived at Rishra, amid an uneasy calm in the wake of a fresh flare-up on Monday.

Earlier in the day, senior advocate and BJP MP Mahesh Jethmal claimed in a tweet that of all the 'pseudo-secular' parties, the "most dangerously communal" was the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress.

Jethmal alleged that the loss of the Sagardighi assembly bypoll spurred Mamata to incite violence against Hindus during Ram Navami.

"Of all the pseudo-secular parties the most dangerously communal is the #MamataBanerjee-led TMC. Not chastened by the SC transfer to the CBI of the horrendous post-poll violence cases, the mere loss of the Sagardighi assembly bypoll spurred Mamata to incite violence against Hindus during #RamNavami akin to her call to violence against BJP supporters after the 2021 Assembly," tweeted the senior advocate.

The Rajya Sabha MP said the main cause of violence in the state is CM Banerjee's "mollycoddling the Muslim vote bank".

"The BJP were not provocateurs on Ram Navami: Mamata's ruthless quest to cling to power by mollycoddling her Muslim vote Bank to any extent is the root cause of the continuing mayhem in W.Bengal. Pity the State," he tweeted.

The fresh violence came a day after clashes erupted during the BJP's march in Hooghly on Sunday. The state government later issued prohibitory orders and also suspended internet services across the district.

The chief public relations officer of Eastern Railway, Kaushik Miron, said an incident of stone pelting took place at Rishra railway station. Police and rapid action force (RAF) were also deployed in the area to prevent any untoward incidents, he added.

Earlier, on Thursday, several vehicles were set on fire after two groups clashed in Howrah amid Ram Navami celebrations. During the procession, rioters vandalised public and private properties while setting vehicles on fire.

Following the violence in Howrah during the Ram Navami celebrations, the West Bengal government on Friday handed over the probe to Criminal Investigation Department (CID). A special team led by Inspector General of Police, CID, Sunil Choudhury has initiated an investigation.