New Delhi: The Calcutta high court on Monday, June 13, directed the state government to file a response on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the arrest of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma and her expelled colleague, Naveen Kumar Jindal, for their derogatory remarks on Prophet Mohammad.The BJP leaders’ remarks had sparked outrage across the country and beyond, triggering protests in numerous cities within India and drawing condemnation from a number of Islamic nations.Violent protests broke out in several parts of West Bengal, particularly in areas of the state’s Howrah district, on June 10.The directions came while the court was hearing a petition by one Masum Ali Sardar, which called for criminal proceedings to be initiated against Sharma and Jindal under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class), 298 (uttering words with the deliberate intent to wound religious feelings), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot) and 153A (promoting feelings of enmity between different groups).“For that, not only the petitioner and his community but also a large section of sensible people of other communities of the state expected that the government, both at the centre as well as the state, would rise to the occasion and take appropriate action against those who had deliberately and publicly acted in a sacrilegious manner so as to humiliate the Prophet,” Live Law quoted the petition as saying. Sardar’s plea also sought for the orders suspending internet services and imposing Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in the protest-hit areas of the state to be recalled and for a commission, headed by a retired high court Justice, to be set up to look into alleged excesses by law enforcement personnel in these areas.The court sought the state government’s affidavit responding to the plea on the next date of hearing – June 15.Violence in West BengalReports of crowds of protesters pelting stones at the police surfaced first on social media. Protesters also reportedly set fire to the BJP office in Howrah’s Panchla and the police eventually used tear gas to disperse the crowd.The petition, however, alleged that while a peaceful protest march, organised by a Muslim group, made its way down NH-6, it was disrupted by a group chanting slogans of “Bhagwan Ram” with the ‘deliberate aim’ to provoke communal tension.Protests continued in the state in the days that followed, even as authorities imposed curfews and internet shutdowns. Protesters created roadblocks and reportedly set up blockades on railway lines as well.Reports of several other buildings and structures being set ablaze, too, surfaced.WB | Police attempt to douse fire after a fresh clash broke out b/w police & protesters in Panchla Bazaar, HowrahSec 144 CrPC imposed in & around the stretches of National Highways & Railway Stations under the jurisdiction of Uluberia-Sub Division, Howrah extended till June 15 pic.twitter.com/tmBYROTz5M— ANI (@ANI) June 11, 2022Thereafter, through June 12, the protests reportedly spread from Howrah to the Nadia and Murshidabad districts in the north. Protesters reportedly damaged a local train at the Bethuadahari railway station while another group damaged the Dhubulia station, both in Nadia.Also read: Bengal Protests: Mob Damages Train in Nadia, 100 Arrested Across StatePolice has now claimed to have arrested over 200 people.Sardar’s petitions levels allegations against the state police as well, claiming that the Rapid Action Force (RAF) had reportedly entered Muslim localities, dragged innocent people out of their homes, beat them and then taken them into custody.“The arbitrary acts of arrest and detention of ordinary citizens had created a panic in the said localities,” the plea contended.As such, the plea sought for directions to the two police commissioners of the subdivisions of the Howrah district to take appropriate actions against the police personnel in their jurisdictions.
