Silchar tense over desecration of temple, Dilip Paul arrested

  FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT

SILCHAR, September 26: A tense and surcharged situation prevailed across the town and gradually it was heating up following the discovery of a cow-head in the premises of Kalibari temple near Green Park area of Meherpur on Friday night and also cow-meat and carcass in Lane No.13 of Link Road area of the town today. On being informed, Dilip Paul, MLA Silchar, Kaushik Rai, Cachar district party president, Gopal Roy, Babu Singh, Dipayan Chakraborty and other BJP leaders and members rushed to the spot. But, they were arrested by the police and taken to Tarapur police station at around 11 am.   Later, about 400 party members including all the BJP ward commissioners laid siege of the police station premises and held protest demonstration, demanding the release of the arrested leaders and members. The police officials in a bid to maintain law and order and to disperse the assembled crowd who included women cadres also took recourse to lathi-charge on them. More than 30 people including 8 BJP ward commissioners were badly injured. Rajbeer Singh, SP, Suhashini Shankaran, ASP, Sudhangshu Das, DSP, and other top police officials were present in the police station.

  It is to be mentioned here that not a single lady police constable was present during the lathi-charge. It is mandatory for the presence of lady police since agitators included women also. Following the clashes, the arrested persons were taken to Sadar police station and from there they were produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate. They were however released on bail u/s 107. The police however did not press for other sections of the CRPC which include 353, 120 B, 341 and 153 A of the CRPC.   BJP leaders however refused to be released on bail on the ground that they were first arrested by the police u/s 151. When asked by the lawyers of the saffron party whether the section 151 was under CRPC or IPC, the O/C of Tarapur police station, Nirupam th, refused to clarify and left it to be answered by the higher officers. There was some element of drama when charged by the BJP workers why Dilip Paul, MLA, was misbehaved and subjected to unparliamentary words, SP Rajbeer Singh, IPS, apologized before the media persons and the party leaders and workers. The SP repeatedly apologized in the premises of the CJM court.

  The SP when asked why his policemen were dealing with the agitators in a rough manner, his reply was he could not be held responsible for each and every action of his subordites. BJP leaders alleged that the SP was working as the stooge of the Chief Minister of Assam and carrying out his dictates. Against this dismeanour of the SP, an FIR was lodged against him in Tarapur police station by BJP.

  When the situation was turning tense, an auto rickshaw was torched in the Central Road area of the town in mysterious circumstances. This created panic and the business establishments, shops and other sundry dealers downed their shutters and the vehicular traffic was off the road which however resumed later on. In the meantime, in view of the tense situation, the Additiol District Magistrate of Cachar has promulgated 144 CRPC in the district as a precautiory measure.   An all party peace meeting convened by the Additiol Deputy Commissioner in his conference hall for defusing the tension and to restore normalcy was boycotted by BJP. Rather, hundreds of leaders and workers demonstrated before the DC office. The Cachar district committee has called for a bandh on September 28 and transfer of SP, besides demanding public apology from him. Till the filing of this report, none has been arrested for defiling Kalibari temple and placing the cow-meat and carcass in Link Road.   Though the SP apologized before the BJP leaders and workers as well as media persons, subsequently through sms to the jourlists said “I am working under CRPC and IPC, not under MLA or CM. I am ready to get transferred but will not apologize. A crimil is crimil for me at last, be it MLA or MP. MLA was supporting blockade so we detained them.”