Setback for Mamata govt as Calcutta HC orders NIA probe into Ram Navami violence in West Bengal

The Calcutta High Court ordered an NIA investigation into the violence that occurred during Ram Navami this year in Howrah, Hooghly, and Dalkhola on Thursday. Division bench of acting chief justice ordered West Bengal Police to hand over all the necessary documents related to investigation to the National Investigation Agency within two weeks.

Earlier, the fact-finding committee's interim report to the court indicated that the violent episodes in West Bengal's Howrah, Hooghly, and Rishra, among other places, were pre-planned. The high court's order came on BJP MLA Subhendu Adhikari PIL seeking an NIA probe into the violence on Ram Navami in West Bengal.

According to the preliminary report of the fact-finding committee led by Justice L Narasimha Reddy (Retd), "the riots were pre-planned, orchestrated, and instigated." Notably, recent Ram Navami celebrations in Howrah and Hooghly included acts of violence and burning. 

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Several vehicles were set on fire, stones thrown and shops ransacked as clashes between two groups broke out in the district. A number of cars, including a few police vehicles, were damaged during the violence and the security personnel had to fire tear gas shells to disperse the mob.

The BJP had also questioned the administrative capabilities of the Mamata Banerjee-led state government. Meanwhile, the TMC asserted that they behaved like "good boys" on Hanuman Jayanti after seeing that the violence was having a negative electoral impact on the party.

According to earlier reports from ANI, the West Bengal administration was asked by the MHA for a thorough report on the clashes between two groups that occurred last week in the state's Howrah city during a Ram Navami parade.

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