Kolkata, Aug 29: Kolkata Police arrested five people on Thursday for allegedly planning an attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kalighat. The accused reportedly discussed the plot in a WhatsApp group.
Details of the Accused
The arrested individuals, including two women, were identified as Krishna Ghosh, Barsha Ghosh, Subham Sensharma, Arijit Dey, and Swagoto Banerjee. Dey and Swagoto were the admins of the WhatsApp group where the plan was discussed. Several written and voice messages in the group called for assembling to attack the Chief Minister’s residence.
All five accused have been charged under various sections of the newly enacted Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Protests Over Rape Case Lead to Further Arrests
In a related development, Kolkata Police also arrested three individuals who called for a march to Nabanna, the Bengal secretariat, on August 27. The march was in protest against the rape and murder of a junior doctor from the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital earlier this month. The arrested individuals are Probir Das, Sayan Lahiri, and Suvankar Halder. While Halder and Lahiri were arrested earlier, Das was apprehended on Thursday.
Violence erupted in parts of Kolkata and Howrah during Tuesday’s protest, leading to clashes between police and protesters. Several police officers and protesters were injured. The police arrested 220 individuals in connection with the clashes and made 25 preventive arrests before the march.
The Kolkata Police stated that the preventive arrests helped avert a more serious escalation during the protest. Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken charge of the investigation into the R.G. Kar case.
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