Raghunathganj (Murshidabad): Police on Saturday arrested 30 people in connection with Friday's clashes in Raghunathganj during a Ram Navami procession. At least 35 people were injured in the violence, some of them seriously.
Among those held, 16 were reportedly organisers or participants of the rally, while 14 were arrested for allegedly pelting stones at the procession. Those arrested include Kingshuk Sarkar and Babai Chakraborty, office-bearers of the Raghunathganj Ram Navami Celebration Committee. Police alleged the duo visited the Jangipur Super Specialty Hospital and delivered provocative speeches.
Central forces and armed battalions of the state police, including the RAF, conducted route marches early Saturday. Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS have been imposed across the town. Authorities have also issued take-down orders for social media posts deemed inflammatory.
The Election Commission has sought a report from Bengal DGP Siddh Nath Gupta and transferred a senior Uttarakhand IPS officer who was serving as a police observer in the zone. The state police are also probing why local units failed to prevent the violence despite specific intelligence inputs. The EC has appointed Surinder Singh as the new Jangipur SP and Ajeet Singh Yadav as DIG (Murshidabad Range). "No guilty party will be spared. We are identifying miscreants through CCTV footage," the DIG said.
Preliminary investigations revealed the organisers had planned a large gathering from three sides at Mackenzie Park. Tensions flared after a tiff between locals and rallyists at Sisatala and Nista, which quickly escalated into stone-pelting and arson. Several local shops were set on fire.
Witnesses said the situation worsened after some participants removed a flag belonging to an Islamic organisation at the Fultala traffic point to plant a saffron flag. Residents were caught in the crossfire. Imran Sheikh, a local toto driver, said, "I was stopped and beaten with rods while passing by. Doctors suspect a fracture in my right hand."
On Saturday, the town remained tense. Around 10 shops were partially or completely gutted, with charred goods strewn across the streets. Partha Sarkar, a stationary shopkeeper at the Hospital Market Complex, said: "Footfall has dropped since yesterday. I couldn't keep my shop open due to the stone-pelting and police chases. I opened late today, but there is still a lot of fear."