A political row has emerged after a purported video of three monks being assaulted by a mob in West Bengal’s Purulia over suspicion of being ”kidnappers in disguise” has surfaced online. The row led to the opposition BJP alleging a collapse of law and order in the state.
Meanwhile, the ruling TMC accused the BJP of attaching a communal touch to the incident.
Police said that twelve people have been arrested in this regard based on a specific case.
BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya took to X and shared the video of the incident while slamming West Bengal CM Banerjee for such hate crimes in her state.
Another horrific video of sadhus being lynched in West Bengal has emerged, in which a man wearing fatigues is seen beating the modestly dressed sadhus, with their backs to the wall, mercilessly. Has Mamata Banerjee ordered the police to identify this man and charge him with… pic.twitter.com/keHOOpcuUY— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) January 13, 2024
In the video, the authenticity of which PTI could not independently verify, the monks, who were on their way to the Gangasagar Mela, could be seen getting roughed up by a group of people in Kashipur.
Purulia police, in a post on X, said the incident took place due to a misunderstanding. ”Facts are being misrepresented from certain quarters about a recent incident in Purulia. The fact is, on 11.01.24 afternoon, there was a misunderstanding between three Gangasagar-bound sadhus with three local minor girls near Kashipur over a language problem. The girls got scared, and local people manhandled the sadhus, damaging their vehicle and alleging a kidnapping attempt. Local police promptly intervened and rescued the sadhus,” it said.
“All possible assistance was rendered to the sadhus. There is no communal overtone whatsoever regarding the incident. Anyone trying to fuel communal passions will be strictly dealt with as per law,” it added.
The post by Purulia Police was also circulated by the TMC media cell.
Union minister Anurag Thakur, who was in the city to attend a programme, termed it as ”politics of appeasement” in West Bengal.
The state BJP leadership, too, came down heavily on the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, claiming that those behind the ”assault” on the seers were linked to the ruling party.
The TMC, meanwhile, dubbed the BJP’s allegations as ”baseless” and said Thakur should first address the ”deteriorating” law and order situation in states under its rule.
(with PTI inputs)
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