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After fresh clashes between protesters and police at Panchla Bazaar in West Bengal's Howrah on Saturday, the West Bengal government effected changes in the police department.
According to reports, Praveen Tripathi has been made the Commissioner of Howrah Police whereas Swati Bhangalia will now be the Superintendent of Police in Howrah Rural. The Mamata Banerjee government has declared C. Sudhakar as the Joint Commissioner of Kolkata Police and Saumya Roy as the Deputy Commissioner of the Southwest Division of the State Police. Notably, fresh clashes erupted between police and a group of protestors in Howrah over the controversial remarks against Prophet Muhammad by suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma and expelled party leader Naveen Jindal, after which section 144 was imposed in and around the stretches of National Highways and Railway Stations under the jurisdiction of Uluberia-Sub Division in Howrah till June 15. Internet services have been suspended till 6 am on June 13 in Howrah in the wake of protests that erupted in the city on Friday. A massive crowd had gathered to protest at Park Circus in Kolkata adding to the resentment against the sacked BJP leaders. A BJP office was vandalised and torched in Uluberia, Howrah district, while protests were also staged at Dasnagar railway station on the Howrah-Kharagpur railway route. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that certain political parties were behind this violence in Howrah and asked why should people suffer for "BJP's sin". "As I have said before, violent incidents have been taking place in Howrah for two days now. There are some political parties behind this which want to cause riots, but these things will not be tolerated and strict action will be taken against all who indulged in violence. Why should the common people suffer because of BJP's sins?" she said in a tweet. Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar also expressed concern over the "worsening" law and order situation and appealed to Banerjee to sternly deal with the lawbreakers. Taking to Twitter, Dhankar alleged that inaction by police was an "unfortunate endorsement" of the criminality of violators. "Concerned at worsening law and order situation since May 09. Inaction @chief_west @WBPolice @KolkataPolice is unfortunate endorsement of the criminality of law violators. Appeal #MamataBanerjee to sternly deal with law breakers. All involved be identified and arrested," he tweeted. Following the protests, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) asked the police heads of states and Union Territories to be prepared and alert as they will be on target. The MHA also has asked all the states to take preventive actions, keep a check on borders and identified sensitive areas. Notably, a controversy erupted after Nupur Sharma's remarks against the minorities. Some Gulf countries have also lodged their protest. However, India on Thursday reiterated that the controversial remarks concerning Prophet Muhammad do not reflect the views of the Government and added that action has been taken by concerned quarters against those who made the comment. (ANI)
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