Kolkata: With over 50 Ram Navami rallies, including five large processions, expected in Kolkata on Sunday, police have demarcated the routes and strengthened security, with forces deployed until April 7, police said on Saturday.
Commissioner of Kolkata Police Manoj Verma met with senior officers of the city police and visited important areas to check the preparations on Saturday. An additional 5,000 police personnel are likely to be deployed in the city, he said.
At least 10 police districts and police commissionerates, including Howrah, Siliguri, Malda, Murshidabad, Cooch Behar, Islampur, Asansol-Durgapur, Barrackpore, and Chandannagar, have been identified across the state. “Around 30 senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers have been tasked with maintaining law and order in these areas. Leaves for all police officers across the state have already been cancelled from April 2,” said an officer.
The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are, meanwhile, trading barbs as the state gears up for the celebrations, with Ram Navami-related posters and banners put up across the city, including outside the Raj Bhavan, Victoria Memorial, and the legislative assembly.
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“The BJP is trying to make Ram Navami into a political event. They are not into politics of development. They want politics over religion. They want to create some disturbance. Bengal will not tolerate this,” TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said.
In areas like Sankrail in Howrah, rallies were held on Saturday, with large contingents of police deployed. The TMC has also planned to hold some rallies on Sunday to celebrate Ram Navami.
“A few million Hindus are expected to hit the road on Ram Navami. I would urge the state government to take steps so that it can be celebrated peacefully. Any attempts to forcefully halt the celebrations won’t be tolerated. Ram Navami celebrations will be held no matter what you do,” Sukanta Majumdar, state BJP president, said in a video message.
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In some areas, posters of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) featuring RJD president and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, and his family, could be spotted.
An umbrella organisation of around 20 Hindu groups has planned over 2,000 rallies across West Bengal on Ram Navami on April 6, prompting authorities to make elaborate arrangements to prevent communal violence.
“The next 10 days are important. We are requesting citizens to be on alert. Nobody should fall for provocation or rumors aimed at creating communal discord,” Jawed Shamim, additional director general of police (law and order), told the media a week ago.
Last week, the West Bengal police claimed to have foiled a bid to incite communal tension between religious groups during Ram Navami, an officer said.