Suvendu Adhikari moves Calcutta HC seeking NIA probe into Maheshtala violence

The heavyweight Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA's counsel submitted before the division bench headed by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam as quoted by The Telegraph, "The situation in Maheshtala is grave. Hundreds of families have been spending days in utter fear. Police have failed to give them protection. No proper inquiry was conducted.... The NIA should be asked to conduct a probe... with urgent effect."

"So I am requesting the court to make necessary arrangements so the petition is heard as soon as possible."

The violence occurred near the Rabindranagar Police Station in the Budge Budge area of South 24 Parganas' Maheshtala on Wednesday evening.

Opposition BJP leaders said the clashes broke out after a person was stopped from setting up a shop near a local Hindu temple.

This episode allegedly led to the vandalisation of the Shiva temple, triggering outrage among residents.

The situation almost went out of control after noon. Several bikes were set on fire, and police vehicles were vandalized.

A female cop was injured in the violence after being hit by a brick.

The entire area looked like a battlefield, which left the police with no choice but to resort to lathicharge and tear gas shelling to bring the situation under control.

The Rapid Action Force (RAF) team was also deployed to restore peace in the area.

Seven FIRs were lodged and 40 people have been arrested so far in connection with the incident.

Adhikari, whose party has alleged Muslim appeasement by the Mamata Banerjee government, on Thursday marched along with other BJP MLAs from state assembly to Raj Bhavan in downtown Kolkata with Tulsi plant seeking Governor CV Ananda Bose's intervention in the matter.

"Hindustan won't tolerate this insult to Maa Tulsi. We want the Governor's intervention in this matter," said Adhikari, who walked barefoot while carrying a Tulsi plant.

Several protests were orchestrated by the BJP in Kolkata accusing the state government of turning a deaf ear to the Hindu community's plight.

The TMC has declined to call the incident a "communal clash" and claimed it was a "localised dispute over a shop".

TMC spokesperson Debangshu Bhattacharya said, "The Maheshtala incident was a localised dispute over a shop, not some Hindu-Muslim conspiracy you’re salivating to peddle.

"The State Administration acted with lightning speed with senior officers like the ADG (South Bengal) and Joint CP (Crime) on the ground. Thanks to their swift action, escalation was stopped dead in its tracks. But you wouldn’t know competence if it slapped you across your lying face."