WB: BJP women wing protest turns violent, several arrested

The Kolkata police on Thursday arrested around 200 BJP women activists including the state BJP women's wing and party MLA, Agnimitra Paul following a protest which turned violent.

Kolkata (West Bengal):The Kolkata police on Thursday arrested around 200 BJP women activists including the state BJP women's wing and party MLA, Agnimitra Paul, following a protest in Kolkata which turned violent. The BJP wing also protested in front of the ancestral house of Swami Vivekananda at Simla Street in north Kolkata. Later, they were taken to the central lock-up of the Kolkata Police headquarters in central Kolkata.

The BJP wing was protesting against the recent insidence of gang rape at Bagnan in Howrah district including post-poll violence in which various BJP workers were injured.

The agitation programme at Simla Street was pre-scheduled. Accordingly, a police team was present at the spot since morning, There was a scuffle between the police personnel and the agitators. The police claimed that they were forced to arrest the agitators as they had assembled illegally, breaching all the COVID_19 protocols.

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However, BJP councillor, Meena Devi Purohit claimed that the police unnecessarily reacted while they were organizing a peaceful protest demonstration. "COVID_19 restrictions were used just an excuse to arrest us," she said.

Besides Kolkata, similar agitations were organized in other parts of the state. There were reports of tension from different pockets of the state as well.