Two days after a massive controversy broke out in West Bengal over the issue of state police manhandling and pulling off the turban of an on-duty Sikh security official, the West Bengal police has issued a clarification on the issue by claiming that the ‘pagri’ or turban automatically fell off during the scuffle and officers asked him to wear it.
On Thursday, a West Bengal police officer was caught on camera pulling down the turban of an on-duty Sikh security official while dragging, assaulting him. The turban-clad man is identified as 43-year-old Balwinder Singh, who is a former soldier of the Special Forces of the Indian Army and NSG, according to Major Navdeep Singh. Singh currently works as a private security officer hired by a BJP leader.
जब सरकार ही एक सरदार की पगड़ी खोल दे
— Manogya Loiwal (@manogyaloiwal) October 9, 2020
हावड़ा पुलिस अपनी सफाई में खुद ही कुछ बोल दे
इस अपमान का कैसे कोई मोल दे
A Sardar kept pleading to spare his Turban but @WBPolice had ears closed…and eyes wide shut #NabannaCholoAbhiyan #FridayMotivation pic.twitter.com/xP7eVwjp3Y
Balwinder Singh was attacked by the West Bengal Police during the ‘Nabanna Chalo’ protests organised by the BJP Yuva Morcha in Kolkata. The West Bengal police had mercilessly beat up people on the streets of Kolkata and unleashed large-scale lathi-charge and violence against BJYM and BJP workers for protesting against the political murders in the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal.
The videos of the conduct by the West Bengal police against BJP workers, especially Balwinder Singh had gone viral, which had evoked a strong response from the social media users.
West Bengal police clarifies on the incident
As videos of West Bengal police assaulting the Sikh man went viral on the internet triggering a massive outrage against Mamata Banerjee-led government, the West Bengal Police tweeted on Friday to claim that the Sikh man was carrying firearms during the protest. The police said that the ‘pagri’ or turban had fallen off during a scuffle and the act was unintentional.
“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. It is never our intention to hurt the sentiments of any community,” the West Bengal police tweeted.
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(2/2) pic.twitter.com/BnTWztfDGW
— West Bengal Police (@WBPolice) October 9, 2020
The West Bengal police claimed that Singh had carried a loaded pistol with him to the protest. The licence of the pistol is valid till January next year. The police officer said that they had asked Singh to “put his turban back before the arrest”.
“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,” the West Bengal police said in another tweet.
WB police mercilessly beat up BJYM and BJP workers, TMC goons join in
On Thursday, the West Bengal Police had carried out lathi-charge against BJYM and BJP workers on the streets of Kolkata for protesting against the political murders in Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal. The social media platforms were flooded with disturbing visuals of the violence that erupted during the ‘Nabanno Chalo’ rally organised by the BJYM at Kolkata as BJP karyakartas.
Acting on the behest of the state government, the West Bengal Police came down heavily on the BJP karyakartas by raining lathis and using tear gas at them. Shockingly, the Trinamool party workers too joined the violence against the BJP workers.
The goons allegedly associated with the TMC attempted to disrupt the peaceful rally and attacked the BJP workers. Crude bombs were hurled and the protesting karyakartas were subjected to ‘chemical liquid attacks’ as well.
We had reported pictures of the WB government’s excesses on the BJP and BJYM karyakartas. As per sources OpIndia spoke to, 450 karyakartas of the BJP had been arrested and over a thousand were injured during the crackdown on the ‘Nabanno Chalo’ protest by the BJYM.
