In an important update to the communal violence that took place in Howra on Ram Navami, the Calcutta High Court has ordered National Investigation Agency (NIA) investigation into the case. The Court also asked the authorities to hand over all the CCTV footages and FIRs to the NIA team withing two weeks.
Calcutta High Court orders NIA investigation into violence in Howrah's Shibpur during Ram Navami
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 27, 2023
On April 10, the High Court had taken the notice of a report submitted by the state police which suggested that the Ram Navami clashes were pre-planned. “The Howrah Police commissioner has filed a 54-page report, including annexures. Reports prima facie suggest that it was were pre-planned. There were allegations that stones were pelted from rooftops. Obviously, they were not carried there within 10 – 15 minutes,” a bench of acting chief justice TS Sivagnanam and justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya had said.
#Breaking: Setback for #WestBengal Government as Calcutta HC orders #NIA investigation into #Ramnavami violence that took place in Howrah’s Shibpur & Rishra. All CCTV & FIRs to be handed over to NIA within two weeks. LoP Suvendu Adhikari had moved court seeking NIA/CBI…
— Pooja Mehta (@pooja_news) April 27, 2023
The Court was hearing the petition by the leader of the opposition in the state assembly and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari that sought a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the violence that erupted in West Bengal.
The court also had said that a probe by central agency would be needed in the case. “The report proceeds on the line that the clash took place between two groups. There can be a third person who wants to take advantage of the situation. If that group is involved, then it requires investigation by a central agency. That is very difficult for the state police to find. Somebody would have set the fire, had set the ball rolling. Without a probe by a central agency, you can’t identify that outside source,” the bench was further quoted as saying.
It may be recalled that on March 30, stones were pelted on a Ram Navami procession from the terraces of the buildings in the Shibpur area of Howrah. This led to a clash between the Hindu and Muslim groups, leading to violence and arson. Vehicles and shops were also torched during the attack.
Several disturbing videos of the incident went viral on social media. A large contingent of police was deployed to maintain the law and order situation in the area. The cops conducted a flag march, fired tear gas shells and chased away the rioters.
Hours after Islamists ran riots against Hindus celebrating Ram Navami in Howrah, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had attempted to give a clean chit to the perpetrators by first invoking their faith and second, blaming the violence on ‘outsiders.’ She insisted that Hindus should not venture into “Muslim areas” to carry out processions.
The violence was also justified by West Bengal Islamic cleric Pirzada Nazimuddin Hossein who gave a clean chit to the Islamists for the mayhem they unleashed on the Hindu devotees in Shibpur, Howrah on March 30, by pinning the blame on the timing of the ‘Sobha Yatra’ taken out by the Hindus.
According to Pirzada Nazimuddin Hossein, who spoke to ABP News, the violence erupted in the evening during Azaan. According to him, the Ram Navami procession should have gone through the neighbourhood before or after the Azaan hour. The Hindus should have obeyed the time to avoid the violence, which is essentially what the cleric suggested to rationalize the carnage carried out by radical Islamists on March 30.
However, a day after Mamata Banerjee accused Hindu devotees of carrying out the Ram Navami procession on ‘unauthorized routes’, the organizers of the rally had come forward to refute her claims.
