Updated: December 12, 2020 7:57:53 am
A vehicle in JP Nadda’s convoy was damaged during the stone throwing. (Photo: PTI)
The West Bengal chief secretary has written to the union’s interior secretary to provide details of the security arrangements made for BJP chairman JP Nadda and asked the central official to “kindly dispense with” the officials. states at a meeting he called to discuss law and order. in the state.
Chief Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay wrote to Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla after the Home Office summoned him and Chief of Police Virendra to be present in North Block for a meeting on Monday.
The Center issued the subpoena based on a report sent by West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday morning on law and order in the state, where Nadda’s convoy was attacked with stones and sticks., allegedly by supporters of the Trinamool Congress, on Thursday. Ten BJP workers and leaders, including National Secretary General Kailash Vijayvargiya and National Vice President Mukul Roy, suffered minor injuries.
“I must inform you that, as requested… incidents involving certain protected category Z are already being examined by us,” the chief secretary wrote to the union’s secretary of the interior.
“In fact, yesterday we made elaborate arrangements for the security coverage of the protégés. The West Bengal Police have provided a bulletproof car and pilot to Sri JP Nadda, who in addition to the escort (vehicle by State, personnel by CRPF) and PSO (CRPF) is entitled as a protected category Z.
“The camp’s DIG (Police) was stationed in the area to personally supervise the police arrangements, while four additional SPs, 8 DySPs, 14 inspectors, 70 SI / ASI, 40 RAF members, 259 officers and 350 members of the Auxiliary forces were deployed on the route and at Diamond Harbor headquarters … “
SEE | Stones thrown at the vehicle of BJP Secretary General Kailash Vijayvargiya in West Bengal pic.twitter.com/TORSzQwjUz
– The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) December 10, 2020
Bandopadhyay noted that “the tagging of many vehicles in the protected convoy made the situation difficult to manage, because typically security authorities must handle a protected convoy of only a few vehicles.” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had asked on Thursday why the BJP president needed a “convoy of 50 cars, plus 30 press vehicles and 40 motorcycles.”
Police have recorded three cases related to the incident, including two involving vandalism that left several vehicles in Nadda’s convoy damaged and arrested seven people, Bandopadhyay wrote to Bhalla.
“While more reports are obtained and compiled, given the circumstances, I would like to ask you to kindly dispense with the presence of state officials at the meeting, considering that the state government is already addressing the issue with the utmost seriousness,” added. said.
Earlier in the day, a senior Interior Ministry official had said The Indian Express that Governor Dhankhar had sent a report on the attack, “and how it happened despite the fact that the secretary general and the DGP were alerted to the security needs of the visit.”
The governor’s report had “painted a grim picture of the law and order situation in the state,” the official said. “To discuss these issues, the general secretary and the DGP have been summoned.”
The official said the state government officials had been summoned because they did not respond to the interior secretary’s letter on Thursday, requesting a report on the attack on Nadda’s convoy.
In Kolkata, West Bengal police said in a report to the Chief Minister that the attack on Nadda’s convoy was the result of a “provocation”, and that except for “10-15 minutes” of trouble in Sirakol in the 24th district of the south of Parganas, the remainder of the trip to Diamond Harbor from Kolkata was uneventful.
“Adequate security coverage was provided and the adverse incident based on the provocation lasted 10-15 minutes. There were a lot of vehicles and motorcycles in the front and rear of the convoy, which was against the rules. A detailed report has been submitted to the CM, ”said a senior police officer.
The report identified a BJP leader named Rakesh Singh, who along with others, provoked the attackers in Sirakol, he said. One of the three cases registered by the police is against Singh; the other two are for vandalism.
In response to the police report, Mukul Roy said at a press conference in Kolkata: “It is true that the state police provided (Nadda) with a bulletproof car. But we did not see policemen along the route. The handful of policemen we saw stood as mute bystanders as they attacked us. If Naddaji hadn’t been inside an armored car, anything could have happened to him. This is a lawless state. I think the President’s Rule should be imposed immediately in Bengal. ” Roy insisted that Rakesh Singh “did nothing provocative.”
Union Interior Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to visit Bengal on December 19. He will meet with members of the Matua community in Bongaon and discuss the new Citizenship (Amendment) Law. Most of the matuas are Hindu refugees from Bangladesh who have long demanded citizenship in India.
Shah is scheduled to visit Shantiniketan in Birbhum district for an official engagement.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
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