KOLKATA: Police in West Bengal has registered a case against Union Minister Babul Supriyo on charges of disrupting public order after he clashed with cops. Two separate FIRs were filed against him, after he got into a scuffle with cops while he tried to enter troubled areas in Asansol. The town has lately been engulfed with violence following Ram Navami processions in Raniganj earlier last week. Supriyo had met slum dwellers in the area and then reportedly wanted to take his march in to the Railpar area in Paschim Bardhaman district.
The singer-turned-politician has meanwhile, filed a counter-FIR. He said, “As a public representative, I have every right to visit my constituency, especially when people are in trouble. It is my duty. But the police is saying I won't be allowed to go as Section 144 is imposed in the area. Being a minister, I cannot violate rules.” Internet services were suspended and prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC were clamped in the area, following clashes between two groups over the Ram Navami rally at Raniganj.
Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Supriyo accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerhee of ignoring the tense ground situation. “The state government has been told repeatedly that if they cannot control the situation, let central forces come in. This has been clearly turned down. The CM is sitting in Delhi and looking at her prime ministerial ambitions,” he said.
