A day after a man named Balbinder Singh was arrested with a pistol from GT Road in Howrah during the agitation by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers, the party alleged that the Sikh community was insulted as Singh’s turban fell off when he was being taken into custody. The police, however, have denied the charge, saying that the pagri fell off during the scuffle and that the man was asked to put it on before he was arrested.
The outrage over the incident had cricketer Harbhajan Singh tweeting to chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday, saying: “Please look into this matter @MamataOfficial this isn’t done.”
He posted tweets and news video clippings tweeted by BJP’s Delhi unit secretary Impreet Singh Bakshi.
The same tweets and videos were also shared by BJP national secretary Arvind Menon and other leaders.
“In Bengal, is there no respect for people from other religious faiths except a specific one?” tweeted Menon.
A few members of the Sikh community staged a silent protest in central Kolkata. They carried small posters that sought “justice” for Singh.
News footage of Thursday’s incident showed that Singh grappled with three policemen and there was jostling during which his turban came off. Police charged Singh under the Indian Arms Act as the licence he carried was issued in Rajourie, Kashmir. It was not valid in West Bengal.
Singh was produced in Howrah court on Friday and remanded in custody.
“The concerned person was carrying firearms in yesterday’s protest. The Pagri had fallen off automatically in the scuffle that ensued, without any attempt to do so by our officer (visible in the video attached). It is never our intention to hurt the sentiments of any community,” The West Bengal Police tweeted around 10 pm on Friday, attaching a video of the incident.
“West Bengal Police respects all religions. The officer specifically asked him to put his Pagri back before the arrest. The attached photo has been clicked right before he was escorted to the Police Station. We remain committed to our duty to uphold law and order in the state,” said a second tweet.
“It is a licensed weapon and should be returned to its owner. The man is the bodyguard of one of our state BJYM leaders. He has a valid licence for carrying the weapon. He works for a private security agency,” said BJP state president Dilip Ghosh.
“The BJP is doing dirty politics. Nobody intentionally took off the man’s turban. It happened during the jostling,” said Trinamool Congress spokesperson and former Rajya Sabha MP Kunal Ghosh.
BJYM national president and Lok Sabha MP from Bangalore South, Tejasvi Surya has also accused the police of insulting the party’s MPs.
Surya and two BJP MPs from Bengal went to Jorasanko police station to lodge complaint against the police for the injuries suffered by party workers during the baton charge on Thursday.
The BJP MP alleged that he and the others were shoved by the officers. In a video of the incident that he tweeted on Friday, Surya said the MPs will bring a motion of breach of privilege against these policemen.