BJP slams Mamata Banerjee over stone-pelting on policemen in Howrah, says TMC's 'loyal voters' attacked security forces

The BJP on Tuesday slammed the West Bengal government after an incident of stone-pelting on policemen enforcing the coronavirus lockdown in the state’s Howrah district. Reports said that on Tuesday morning, a mob attacked several policemen at Tikiapara in the district. The incident took place in the evening when a police patrol reached Tikiapara area after receiving inputs that a large number of people were jostling in a local market, violating the lockdown and social distancing norms. “As soon as the police asked them to return home, a mob pelted them with stones and beat them up. Two police vehicles were also damaged in the incident,” a police official said. The injured police personnel were taken to a local hospital.

Later, a large police contingent, including RAF personnel, reached the spot to control the situation. Rajib Banerjee, ruling Trinamool Congress leader of Howrah district and state forest minister, criticised the attack on policemen and said strict action would be taken against the culprits. Meanwhile, the BJP, including party leaders like Dilip Ghosh and Amit Malviya, accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of indulging in “appeasement politics”, and added, “her loyal voters are now attacking policemen, even while Bengal faces a tough fight against COVID-19 pandemic.” Ghosh, BJP in-charge of West Bengal, said in a tweet, “Witness the dismal condition of police in West Bengal. When the police tried to make people comply with the lockdown in Tikiapara of Howrah town they were severely assaulted. Whose irresponsibility led to this deterioration of law and order?” Calling for the deployment of paramilitary force in the state, he added, “Those who burn trains-buses-public properties, those to whom the chief minister seeks unconditional apology with joined hands, will they abide by the rules of the lockdown? West Bengal CM is now trying to escape from this situation. Now the only alternative is the paramilitary force.” Multiple instances have emerged from across the country of people assaulting security forces enforcing the lockdown, which has been imposed till 3 May. On Sunday, a policeman from Mumbai’s Shivaji Nagar police station was injured while trying to disperse a mob which was violating the lockdown restrictions, Hindustan Times reported. In Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district, a team of policemen and doctors were attacked by locals on 23 April, India Today reported. “The team was attacked in Sheopur’s Gaswani village when they went to check up on one Gopal Shivhare (21) who had recently come to Sheopur from Indore, one of the major pandemic hotspots in the country,” the report said. With inputs from agencies