The district president of the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal’s North Dinajpur district was arrested on Sunday, hours after he called on residents of Daribhit village to retaliate against police action, NDTV reported.
On September 20 and 21, two people died in clashes between police and a mob over the appointment of teachers in Daribhit High School. Students and residents stopped three newly-appointed Urdu teachers from entering the school in Islampur town, and said they needed teachers for science and English instead.
In a video clip doing rounds on social media, Shankar Chakraborty purportedly told the villagers to tie police officers to trees. “If policemen are thirsty and ask for drinking water, give water to the dogs but not to them,” Chakraborty told the gathering, according to The Indian Express. “If you see injured policemen on the road, take injured cows and buffaloes to hospital but not them. If you see children of policemen lying on the road, do not take them to hospital. Do not allow police to enter this area. Socially boycott the police.”
Chakraborty also threatened to transfer Superintendent of Police Sumit Kumar if he failed to take action against those involved in the clashes, PTI reported.
Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Anuj Sharma said inciting people against law enforcement agencies is a criminal activity. “You can’t say anything you want in a democracy just because you have a microphone in hand,” Sharma said. “He is provoking the public to start riots, and that is something we cannot tolerate.”
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh alleged that the police never arrests Trinamool Congress leaders who threaten them. “But when one of our leaders said something, he is promptly arrested,” Ghosh said according to The Hindu. “The police will face the consequences.”
Meanwhile, the BJP has called for a 12-hour shutdown in the state on Wednesday to protest the death of the students.
All India Minority Forum moves court
On Monday, the All India Minority Forum moved a petition in the Calcutta High Court, urging it to direct the BJP to withdraw the shutdown call, reported PTI.
Trinamool Congress MP and laywer Idris Ali, who is representing the forum, sought an urgent hearing and submitted that the Kerala High Court had held that bandhs are illegal and unconstitutional. This order was later upheld by the Supreme Court, Ali added.
The matter has been listed for hearing on Tuesday.
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