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BJP leader murder: Clashes break out between police and BJP supporters in Kolkata
BJP supporters allegedly attacked the police with bricks and glass bottles. A few crude bombs were also allegedly hurled at the police personnel, an official said
Clashes broke out between West Bengal Police and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters at Titagarh in North 24 Parganas district, around 20 kilometres (km) from Kolkata, on Monday, where a local BJP leader Manish Shukla was shot dead by motorcycle-borne masked assailants on the previous day.
The BJP had called a 12-hour bandh in Barrackpore and its adjoining areas on Monday.
BJP supporters staged protests in the area since Monday morning. They blocked the Barrackpore Trunk (BT) Road at multiple points and burnt tyres demanding immediate arrest of the killers and a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Also Read: Protests, blockades in Barrackpore in BJP’s 12-hour bandh after leader’s murder
When police went to disperse the crowd, clashes broke out and the area turned into a battlefield.
BJP supporters allegedly attacked the police with bricks and glass bottles. A few crude bombs were also allegedly hurled at the police personnel, an official said.
“Police had to fire tear gas shells and resort to lathi charge to disperse the mob,” he said.
Kailash Vijayvargiya, BJP national general secretary and election observer for West Bengal, has demanded a CBI probe into the incident.
A large police contingent, including Rapid Action Force (RAF) and combat force personnel, had to be deployed to maintain law and order in the area.
Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar had summoned state home secretary HK Dwivedi and director-general of police (DGP) Virendra at Raj Bhavan on Monday morning.
When neither turned up, Dhankhar tweeted that he would like to speak to chief minister Mamata Banerjee “urgently”. Later, Alapan Bandyopadhyay, who took charge as the new chief secretary last week, met the governor.
“Conveyed my concern about the present alarming scenario @MamataOfficial to the new chief secretary. Am sure the chief minister would take note of the lawlessness. Political violence and targeted killings must stop,” Dhankhar tweeted.
