The Kolkata Police Detective Department has taken over the investigation into the Kalighat clashes and alleged harassment of police personnel, with three arrested men brought to the site on Tuesday for a reconstruction of the incident.
The clashes broke out in Kalighat on Friday night during programmes linked to the birthday celebrations of Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee. The unrest reportedly involved arguments, pushing and physical confrontations between Trinamool supporters and BJP workers and supporters. Police were allegedly harassed when they attempted to control the situation.
The three accused—Mohammed Taukir Alam, Mohammed Ershad and Srideep Das—are currently in police custody. A large police contingent was deployed in the area as the accused were taken to the location under security for the reconstruction exercise.
Four cases have been registered at Kalighat police station in connection with the incident. Two were filed suo motu by the police. Another case followed a complaint by a woman identified as Gudiya Hari, who named Abhishek Banerjee and 30 to 40 unidentified people. Banerjee also filed a complaint against 30 to 40 unidentified people, following which another case was registered.
According to the report, Srideep Das was arrested in one of the police-initiated cases, while the other two accused were arrested on the basis of Gudiya Hari’s complaint. No arrest had been made in the case registered on the basis of Banerjee’s complaint at the time of the report.
The Kalighat Trinamool Congress unit has said that all three arrested men belong to its camp. The arrests and the investigation therefore involve competing complaints linked to supporters of the two political parties, while the police inquiry is examining the sequence of events and the alleged assault or harassment of officers.
The accused were produced before the Alipore court on Sunday. The court ordered eight days of police custody, allowing investigators to question them and gather further information. The Detective Department’s takeover places the case under Kolkata Police’s specialised investigative wing rather than leaving it solely with the local police station.
The incident also included allegations of stone-throwing and damage to a party office, according to the report. The reconstruction at the scene was conducted amid a heavy police presence, with investigators seeking to examine how the confrontation unfolded during the gathering. The police custody period and the pending investigation will determine the next steps in the four cases.
