Kolkata: A BJP worker along with his five associates, all dressed in lungi and skullcap, were detained by Murshidabad police on Wednesday after local people allegedly caught them pelting stones at a train engine.
‘BJP workers are buying skull-caps to wear while going on protests against CAA, to try and deflect blame on a specific community,’ said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Sunday said the protesters against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act could be “identified by their clothes”.
“We became suspicious when we saw the youths change their clothes near the railway line,” a villager said on Thursday. Six youths were caught throwing stones at a Sealdah-bound trial engine traveling on the Sealdah-Lalgola line. Residents said the six included Abhishek Sarkar, 21, a local BJP worker.
Radhamadhabtala residents said Abhishek, who lives in neighboring Srinagar, was seen at the forefront of all local BJP rallies. “We knew Abhishek as he is very vocal about his views. So we decided to confront them.”
“The youths claimed they had worn lungis and skullcaps for the sake of a video they were shooting for their YouTube channel. But they could not prove the existence of any such channel,” district police chief Mukesh said.
Sources said a seventh member of the group fled after being accosted. The other six were being questioned at Behrampore police station on Thursday.
Local BJP sources confirmed that Sarkar was a party worker but BJP district president Gouri Sankar Ghosh said: “He is not a member of our party. We don’t know anything about the incident in Radhamadhabtala.”
In Calcutta, Mamata told a rally on Rani Rashmoni Avenue: “On Friday, we have a protest meeting at Park Circus after the prayers. I request everybody to maintain peace.”
“Don’t fall into the BJP’s trap. They are trying very hard to turn this into a fight between Hindus and Muslims when it’s anything but…. We have received intelligence that the BJP has been buying skullcaps for its workers. They are wearing them to get photographed and filmed while vandalizing public property… to malign a community,” she said.
“I urge our younger generation not to believe everything they see on social media. The BJP has been misusing the crores at its disposal to spread fake news and videos to incite violence and hatred” she added.