3 min readKolkataNov 20, 2024 09:07 PM IST
First published on: Nov 20, 2024 at 05:48 PM IST
BJP’s West Bengal President Sukanta Majumdar was arrested on Wednesday while on his way to Beldanga in Murshidabad district to “assess” the situation following alleged communal clashes in the area.
According to local eyewitnesses, Majumdar’s convoy was stopped by a large police force around 70 km from Beldanga, in Nadia district’s Krishnanagar. He and his followers sat on the road to protest against the police for not allowing them into the area, while he insisted that his presence wouldn’t threaten law and order and requested police guidance to nearby administrative offices. Following this, Majumdar was arrested.
According to the police, Majumdar, who is also the Union Minister of State for Education, and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), was stopped due to prohibitory orders imposed in the area. The police claimed “his visit might create further tension in the area”.
The police said it was a “preventive arrest” under Section 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. Post his arrest, Majumdar said, “I was going there to assess the situation. Our party workers put up road blockades in other areas in protest against the police preventing us from going to Beldanga.” He was arrested by the Kotwali police station but was later released on bail.
Clashes had erupted on Saturday night between groups in Murshidabad’s Beldanga over an “objectionable” message on a digital display board at a temporary gate of a Kartik Puja pandal.
“Dr Sukanta Majumdar, President BJP West Bengal and Union Minister, has been arrested, on his way to Beldanga, to be with grieving Hindu families, who have been ravaged by marauding Muslim mobs. Mamata Banerjee’s administration is doing everything possible to destroy the social fabric of Bengal,” BJP IT cell-in-charge Amit Malviya posted on X.
BJP Chief Spokesperson and MP Samik Bhattacharya called for road blockades in different areas to protest the arrest. He said, “(Majumdar) was going to stand with the people of Beldanga who had been tortured. Our mothers and sisters are suffering. Police stopped him, our (Union) Minister Dr. Sukanta Majumdar, and blocked his way. At any cost, we want to restore peace in the state. This government is a total failure and has done everything to appease a community and create a divide.”
On Saturday night, after news of the alleged objectionable message spread, groups of people gathered, lobbed bricks and crude bombs, and torched a police vehicle. Shops in the town were ransacked, alongside a few houses. Six people were injured in the clashes, while 17 were arrested.
Later that night, prohibitory orders were imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita (which prohibits gatherings of more than five people), and internet services were suspended. While the police claim the situation is under control, locals say the area continues to be tense.
Clashes had erupted on Saturday night between groups in Murshidabad’s Beldanga over an “objectionable” message on a digital display board at a temporary gate of a Kartik Puja pandal. (Express File) 
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