Kolkata: In an incident that could spark further political violence in the city, the pedestal of a recently installed bust of independent India’s first industry minister and Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee, was vandalised by unknown miscreants in north Kolkata in the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.
The incident occurred barely hours before Union home minister Amit Shah’s visit to Kolkata. The bust is to be formally unveiled on Monday evening to mark Mookerjee’s 125th birth anniversary. The home minister is to lead the celebrations.
Kolkata and the districts of West Bengal have witnessed political violence in the months leading to the recently concluded Assembly elections in the state. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, including the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, faced attacks after the elections.
Two busts, one of Mookerjee and another of Gopal Mukherjee, were installed by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) of North Kolkata recently on APC Road near Sukiya Street, under the Beliaghata
Assembly constituency.
The vandalism during the early hours of Sunday by BJP workers, The Indian Express reported.
“We suddenly noticed that someone had broken the pedestal of the statue. While the upper portion of the statue remains intact, the lower pedestal has been smashed,” said Soumyadeep Raychaudhuri, vice president of the North Kolkata BJYM.
He condemned the act, calling it “deeply unfortunate” and stating that “no sane-minded individual could commit such an act”. The police stepped in to defuse tensions after local BJP leaders accused the TMC of causing the damage.
The Amherst Street police swung into action immediately after receiving a complaint from BJYM worker Saumyajit Roy Chowdhury and arrested a suspect, identified as Rupesh Hazra (26) from Narkeldanga.
A case has also been registered for deliberate intent to hurt religious feelings, mischief, and criminal conspiracy.
“As per the complaint, at about 1.30 am, the accused along with his associates entered into a criminal conspiracy and committed mischief by destroying the cemented nameplate held sacred by the group, intending to insult their sentiments,” a senior Kolkata police officer said.
Broken tiles and pieces of the shattered cemented nameplate were seized from the spot, the police confirmed.
“Investigation of the case is in progress. CCTV footage from the surrounding area is currently being reviewed,” Kunal Agarwal, ACP (Crime), said.
This will be the first time that Mookerjee’s birth anniversary is celebrated in the state. The new BJP government has declared July 6 a holiday.
Large-scale commemorative programmes have been organised by the Bengal BJP across the state.