Amidst anti-Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) protests in Kolkata on Sunday during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit, three BJP supporters who were part of a pro-CAA protest have been arrested. The accused were arrested by Kolkata Police and cases registered under New Market Police Station for raising slogans saying,”Desh ke gaddaro ko goli maaro, saalon ko.” The slogans raised were raised by supporters with BJP flags which were seen in a video that went viral on social media. This also acted as proof for the Police to identify the accused.
The three accused are 55-year-old Surendra Kumar Tiwari, 71-year-old Dhruba Basu, and Pankaj Prasad (whose age was not revealed). The Police registered an FIR based on a complaint filed on Sunday night. The complaint was filed by a 29 year old person by the name of Indrajit kumar Mal, although his background is unknown. Cases have been registered under sections 505, 506, 34, 153A IPC which include allegations of statements conducing public mischief, criminal intimidation and inciting religious disharmony.
Anti-CAA protests were held across the city starting from outside the airport to various parts of the city like Park Circus, Dharmatala, Moulali, Jadavpur and Santoshpur by Left leaders and student wings as well as by minority organizations. Protestors showed black flags outside the airport as Shah was leaving the airport to enter the city premises while in Dharmatala protestors tried to break Police barricades. Shah held a rally at Shahid Minar grounds in the heart of the city which saw protests in the surrounding areas though the Police were out on the streets in huge numbers to prevent trouble.
