The West Bengal Police on Wednesday booked national and state leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in connection with the violence at the rally in north Bengal’s Siliguri town on Monday.
A BJP worker, Ulen Roy, was killed during a pitched battle between BJP workers and the policemen who stopped two processions from moving towards Uttar Kanya, the secretariat in north Bengal. The state police later clarified that Roy suffered injuries by a shotgun, which the police do not use and alleged that armed people in the rally killed Roy.
On Wednesday, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and head of the party’s national information and technology cell, Amit Malviya, posted videos purportedly showing a policeman carrying a shotgun and said it nullified the state’s claim. It was, however, not clear where the video was recorded. The policeman was also not seen firing the weapon.
Officers of the New Jalpaiguri police station, where the FIRs were lodged, said that BJP leaders named in the FIRs included Vijayvargiya, state president Dilip Ghosh, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) national president Tejasvi Surya the BJYM state president Saumitra Khan. The officials,however, did not clarify the sections invoked against the leaders.