Stone-Pelting On Ram Navmi Procession In Murshidabad After Mamata Banerjee Warned EC, BJP Blames CM's "Provocative Speech"

The stone-pelting that happened on Wednesday (17 April) evening during the Ram Navmi procession in West Bengal's Murshidabad has left at least 20 people injured with one woman sustaining serious injuries.

A bomb explosion can also be seen and heard in a violence video but the police did not confirm it. The stones were reportedly thrown from the roof of a house at the procession, which led to the violence.

This comes after Murshidabad DIG was replaced by the Election Commission (EC) and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked the EC to take responsibility if any violence happens.

She had alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was planning to cause unrest so that it could polarise the Lok Sabha elections while expressing apprehensions of possible violence, Indian Express reported.

West Bengal's Leader of Opposition and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari blamed Banerjee's "provocative speech" for "successfully inciting miscreants" to attack Ram Navmi processions.

He alleged that the miscreants "were assured that the Law enforcement Agency won't act against them as their hands have been tied due to CM's public stance on Ram Navami; a day, which according to her, 'Is a day for Rioting'."

He also alleged, "Mamata Police joined the miscreants in this ghastly attack and fired tear gas shells on the Ram Devotees to disperse them to ensure that the procession ends abruptly."

"Not just this, Mamata Police couldn't stop the miscreants from vandalising and looting shops belonging to the Sanatani Community at the Manikyahar More. This is the result of Mamata Banerjee’s provocation and incitation," he added.

Adhikari has written to West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose to intervene and ask National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe the matter. He also urged the EC to take note of these incidents.