A CID team from West Bengal reached Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh on Friday, September 17 to apprehend Yogesh Varshney, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), who had in 2017 allegedly make a threat against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. A group of enraged BJP members reportedly locked up the four police officers in a room and beat them up all night after the officers had misbehaved with the family members of the leader.
#अलीगढ़ : ममता बनर्जी @MamataOfficial का सिर कलम करने पर 11 लाख रुपये इनाम देने का बयान देने वाले भाजपा नेता को गिरफ्तार करने पहुंची बंगाल पुलिस @WBPolice की लोगों ने कमरा बंद कर पिटाई की। @uppolice
— UttarPradesh.ORG News (@WeUttarPradesh) September 17, 2021
In a video of the incident that surfaced on social media, when the WB police officers were being led out of the house, a member from the crowd is heard shouting ‘Khela kar denge’.
Someone is shouting “Khela kar denge ” 😂😂 https://t.co/eAMnGLBOLx
— 🦁 (@AndColorPockeT) September 18, 2021
The Aligarh police then responded to the video saying that the Bengal police was unable to arrest anyone. “In the course of the investigation, the Bengal Police Station reached the Gandhipark area, there was a rift with the team of the local people – the local people accused the team of misbehavior – the situation was pacified by the officials immediately on the spot, no arrest was made by the West Bengal Police”.
विवेचना के क्रम में प0बंगाल पुलिस थाना गांधीपार्क क्षेत्र पहुँची,स्थानीय लोगों की टीम से अनबन हुई-स्थानीय लोगों ने टीम पर बदतमीजी के आरोप लगाए-अधिकारियों द्वारा तत्काल मौके पर पहुँचकर स्थिति को शांत कराया गया,प0बंगाल पुलिस द्वारा कोई गिरफ्तारी नहीं की गई।
— ALIGARH POLICE (@aligarhpolice) September 18, 2021
It may be noted that the ‘Khela hobe’ slogan was initially coined as the Trinamool Congress’ election slogan, ahead of the West Bengal Vidhan Sabha polls, soon turned into a war cry. During her election rallies, the West Bengal Chief Minister continued to provoke her party workers to retaliate against the central armed forces and BJP workers. Several instances of violence were thus reported during the various stages of polling.
Meanwhile, the action taken by the BJYM members was in reprisal for the maltreatment of BJP leaders’ family and female members of the house by the police officers sent by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to nab BJYM leader Yogesh Varshney.
The CID had reached to arrest the BJP leader as they allege that the BJP’s youth wing had announced a bounty of Rs 11 lakh for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s head in the year 2017 after the police in her state used batons to disperse a rally in West Bengal’s Birbhum district for raising slogans Jai Shri Ram slogans on Hanuman Jayanti.
The West Bengal police had misbehaved with BJYM leader’s family members
According to a report by the Hindi daily Jagran, four police officers from West Bengal’s CID, including SI Suvasish Dutt and constable Alamgir, arrived in Aligarh late Friday evening with the attachment and arrest warrant issued by the court against BJYM leader Yogesh Varshney in a 2017 case.
The cops arrived at Gandhipark police station first. At around 7.30 pm, the team arrived at Yogesh’s house, accompanied by Gandhipark outpost in-charge Sandeep Kumar and a constable. The outpost in charge and the constable stopped at the door outside. Policemen in plain uniform, who came from West Bengal, entered the house and enquired about Yogesh.
Yogesh was not at home at that time. While searching the house, the police officers got into a scuffle with Yogesh’s family members. It is believed that they also misbehaved with the ladies of the house. On hearing the family member’s screams, people from the neighbourhood collected. The information reached Yogesh Varshney, who in turn informed his party members. The latter then reached Yogesh’s house in large numbers and locked the WB police officers in the house. The officers were reportedly beaten and the warrant and their identity cards were also snatched from them.
Ultimately local police intervened and “rescued” the CID team for the BJP leaders’ house.
