Anti-Bangladesh protests erupt near Deputy High Commission in Kolkata; 12 arrested
KOLKATA: Hundreds of supporters of a pro-Hindutva outfit, protesting the alleged attack on minorities in the neighbouring nation, tried to march to the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission here on Tuesday afternoon and clashed with the police when they were stopped by the personnel in uniform. Police resorted to baton charge to disperse the protestors after they breached barricades, both human and iron guard rails, in their attempts to move closer to the Deputy High Commission office at Beckbagan in central Kolkata. At least 12 protestors were arrested. Several protestors and police personnel sustained minor injuries in the clashes. The situation in front of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission has been brought under control. Those who attempted to gather there illegally have been removed. So far, 12 people have been arrested in the area. These are preventive arrests, a senior Kolkata Police officer said. He added that a large police contingent remains deployed near the Deputy High Commission office to ensure the security of the foreign diplomatic staff and resist further attempts to lay siege to the premises. The march titled 'Hindu Hunkar Padayatra' was organised under the banner of 'Bongiyo Hindu Jagaran Mancha' with protestors carrying saffron flags and shouting slogans against alleged violence on minority Hindus in Bangladesh. The rally started from Sealdah and was proceeding towards the diplomatic office when it was stopped by police in the Beckbagan area, and the activists were pushed back. The march titled 'Hindu Hunkar Padayatra' was organised under the banner of 'Bongiyo Hindu Jagaran Mancha' with protestors carrying saffron flags and shouting slogans against alleged violence on minority Hindus in Bangladesh. The police here are acting like they want to protect those who are lynching our brothers in Bangladesh. They showed no such enthusiasm when Hindus were lynched in Murshidabad earlier this year, a protestor alleged. The protesters raised slogans Hindu Hindu Bhai Bhai, safety for Hindus in Bangladesh and cries denouncing the lynching of a Hindu man in Bangladesh. Earlier in the day, a similar protest was organised outside the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Tuesday. However, chaos erupted after soon after as hundreds of protestors affiliated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal clashed with police. Carrying saffron flags and shouting slogans, the protesters broke through multiple barricades despite a heavy police presence. The high security area witnessed a beefed-up police presence in the morning ahead of the protest announced by VHP. Authorities had deployed additional forces and set up three layers of security to prevent a breach. An officer said a 15,000-strong police force was deployed ahead of the demonstration. He said police managed to hold the protesters about 800 metres from the high commission. The protests follow the death of 25-year-old Dipu Chandra Das, a garment factory worker, who was lynched on December 18 in Baluka, Mymensingh. According to the police, Das was first beaten up by a mob outside the factory and then hanged from a tree. The crowd left the body of the deceased by the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway and later set it on fire. The protesters in Kolkata demanded action against those responsible for the death of Das and security for Hindus in Bangladesh. On Monday, senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari along with other party leaders and supporters, had staged a demonstration near the Deputy High Commission on the same agenda. Adhikari led a rally of around 2,000 people who squatted on the road after he was stopped by police from proceeding further. We want strict punishment for all those involved in the murder of Das. We want atrocities and attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh to be stopped immediately. If there is no end to attacks on Hindus, we will return with 10,000 people on December 26, he had threatened.
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