Incidents of violence were reported from across West Bengal on Wednesday as the Bharatiya Janata Party called a 12-hour statewide shutdown in protest against the deaths of two people during clashes with the police in North Dinajpur district last week. The clashes occurred after students and residents stopped three newly appointed Urdu teachers from entering a school in Islampur town, and said they needed teachers for science and English instead.
Protestors vandalised government buses and torched tyres in Midnapore Purulia, Howrah and Hooghly, News18 reported. At least 20 BJP supporters have been arrested. Bus drivers in Cooch Behar were seen wearing helmets after a few state-run vehicles were attacked.
Two people stabbed passengers aboard a bus on Brabourne Road in Kolkata, The Indian Express reported. The other passengers fled the bus, while the miscreants set the vehicle on fire. They also torched three cars nearby. It is not known how many passengers on the bus were injured.
BJP supporters also blocked the NH34 at Tungidighi in North Dinajpur, The Indian Express reported.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress workers staged a protest in Kolkata against the BJP’s shutdown, ANI reported.
Demonstrators stopped trains from running on the Howrah-Bardhaman main line, the Canning-Lakshmikantapur route and in Diamond Harbour, Anandabazar Patrika reported.
In Kolkata, traffic was running as normal. Heavy police presence was reported from all across the city. The police have been deployed in heavy numbers in important parts of the city such as Dharmatala and Hazra.
The BJP warned of repercussions if the Trinamool Congress tried to thwart the shutdown. “The state government is trying to hush up the incident in Islampur,” BJP state chief Dilip Ghosh told PTI on Tuesday. “But we will not stop until and unless justice is delivered.”
The police denied allegations that their personnel killed the students.
The saffron party held a press conference on Wednesday evening, in the office of state president Dilip Ghosh, The Indian Express reported. Ghosh claimed that such peaceful protests had never been held before “in the history of Bengal”. “95% of shops were shut in the city and the shopkeepers were forced to shut the shops without any threats,” he added.
Describing the shutdown as a “complete success”, the party called it off two hours ahead of time, reported PTI. “As the bandh has been successful, we have decided to call it off two hours ahead of the scheduled time,” said Ghosh. “The visuals that we have seen and the reports that we have received from the districts prove that the shutdown was a success.”
Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court asked the state government to ensure that normal life was not disrupted during the strike, PTI reported. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Debasish Kar Gupta and Justice Sampa Sarkar ordered that action be taken against those who indulge in violence.
State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee has accused the BJP of stalling development by calling the strike. “The police will take strong action if anyone tries to enforce the strike,” The Indian Express quoted the police as saying. “Our party workers have also been instructed to remain alert and monitor the situation but they must not respond to provocations. All district magistrates and superintendents of police have been asked to take action if the situation goes out of hand.”
On Tuesday, Chatterjee warned private schools against suspending classes during the bandh and said the government would revoke their no-objection certificates if they stayed shut despite the appeal, The Telegraph reported. The education minister assured the school administrations of the state’s support and protection. Several private schools declared a holiday on Wednesday.
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