There were reports of a crude bomb going off as the procession was about to conclude. However, the police did not confirm.
“At least 20 people have been injured in the incident. A woman who had received serious injuries has been admitted to Murshidabad Medical College & Hospital. The rest have been admitted at the local hospital,” a police officer said.
Sources said miscreants threw stones at the procession from the roof of a house, leading to violence. Huge forces have been deployed in the area. Earlier in the week, the Election Commission had replaced the DIG of Murshidabad after violence at Kamnagar area where prohibitory orders have been imposed.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had expressed apprehension of possible violence during Ram Navami and had alleged that BJP could be “fomenting unrest to polarise” the Lok Sabha elections, had said the EC will have to take the responsibility in case of any violence in Murshidabad.
Following the violence in Murshidabad, BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, hit out at the chief minister, accusing her of provocation and alleged that police fired teargas shells to disperse the procession.
“Mamata Police joined the miscreants in this ghastly attack and fired teargas shells on Ram devotees to disperse them to ensure that the procession ends abruptly,” Adhikari posted on X .
“This is the result of Mamata Banerjee’s provocation & incitation. For peaceful and incident-free celebration of religious festivals in West Bengal, this state government must be replaced. I would like to urge the Election Commission to kindly take note of the failure on the part of the police,” wrote Adhikari.
BJP Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya said, “This incident is a fall out of daily probation of Mamata Banerjee against Ram Bhakts. What do you expect in a state where the CM considers Ram naam as a challenge?.”
“Mamata Banerjee’s incompetence in safeguarding Ramanavami Shobha Yatras in West Bengal is appalling. Hindus targeted in Rejinagar, Murshidabad, a minority in the area,” the BJP claimed on its official X handle.
Last year, violence had erupted in Hooghly district’s Rishra and Shibpur in Howrah during Ram Navami amid claims and counter-claims from both the communities on where the first stones were thrown from.