Kolkata | September 11, 2026
Kolkata Police arrested Atanu Das, the Congress’s Kolkata general secretary, around midnight on Thursday over the burning of posters depicting Dhirendra Krishna Shashtri, the chief priest of Madhya Pradesh’s Bageshwar Dham, after protests over Shastri’s remarks on eating fish and meat during Durga Puja.
Das was arrested from his residence in south Kolkata after police raided the house. He has been booked under provisions relating to promoting hatred between different religious groups and hurting religious sentiments, and was scheduled to be produced before a court on Friday, according to The Indian Express.
The arrest followed a direction issued by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday evening to Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma. Adhikari had spoken in the Assembly about taking action against people who allegedly burnt Shastri’s pictures during a protest in Bhawanipur.
The protests took place on September 8 after Shastri appealed to people in West Bengal not to cook or consume fish or meat during Durga Puja festivities. He also described people who did not follow the appeal as “pakhandi”, or frauds. The remarks triggered protests across the state, with demonstrators objecting to what they described as an intrusion into Bengali food practices and cultural identity. Das and others also filed a police complaint against Shastri.
Congress West Bengal president Subhankar Sarkar criticised the arrest and said the party would organise a statewide agitation against Shastri. “The so-called Baba insulted our religious practices, hurt Bengali sentiments by his statements. Congress leaders and workers protested against this and demanded his arrest. Now instead of arresting him, the police are arresting Congress leaders,” Sarkar told The Indian Express.
Sarkar also questioned the timing of the police action, saying that the chief minister had spoken about arrests in the Assembly and that a Congress leader was subsequently detained from his home. He said the party would burn Shastri in effigy during its planned protests.
Adhikari, who visited Kalighat on Thursday, said burning photographs to express opposition would not be tolerated. “A ‘Sant’ has given an opinion. Those who wish to accept can — those who do not wish don’t,” he said, adding that fish was offered to the goddess as bhog. He also said that people involved in burning pictures outside a police station in Bhawanipur must be arrested.
BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya had earlier said that Bengalis would continue their customary food practices during the festivities, including eating mutton on Navami. Das’s next court appearance and the police proceedings will determine the immediate course of the case.
