The Bengal Bandh or 'Bangla Bandh', which began at 6 am, was called to protest Tuesday's police action on participants of 'Nabanna Abhijan' or march to the secretariat, organised by the newly formed students' group Chatra Samaj over the alleged rape and murder of the doctor at RG Kar hospital in Kolkata. Published: August 28, 2024 9:01 PM IST By Edited by : Sporadic instances of violence marked the BJP-sponsored 12-hour shutdown in West Bengal on Wednesday which had a mixed impact in the wake of bandh supporters clashing with the police and ruling Trinamool Congress workers at several pockets of the state. The most significant of these clashes was reported from Bhatpara in North 24 Parganas district where the BJP alleged that “TMC goons” fired multiple rounds on its local leader Priyangu Pandey’s car and shared a purported video of the crime on social media platforms.
Although Pandey escaped unhurt, the vehicle’s driver and a party worker sustained bullet injuries on their heads and were admitted to a private hospital, BJP leaders claimed. Police said that the two men were beaten up by some people outside the local Anglo-India Jute Mill. The violence was followed by a showdown between local BJP leader Arjun Singh and his TMC counterpart Somnath Shyam, with both leaders and their supporters standing face to face in altercation further triggering tensions and the police finding it tough to disperse the warring groups.
“Miscreants owing allegiance to the Trinamool Cong.