The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal police has taken over the charge of investigating the clashes in the Howrah district on Thursday over a Ram Navami procession that started on Wednesday and continued on Friday.
Sources from the state government said that the investigation will be conducted by the special operation group (SOG) under CID and the investigation team will be headed by an officer in the rank of deputy inspector general (DIG) of police.
West Bengal Governor C. V. Ananda Bose late Friday evening issued a strongly worded statement directing the police to be objective, strong, and fair in the matter.
Also Read: Ram Navami clashes: Tension prevails in Howrah, PIL in Calcutta HC seeks CBI probe
State secretariat sources said that the decision of handing over the charge of the investigation in the matter to the CID was taken by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself after a discussion with the Governor, in which she assured the constitutional head of the state of necessary and prompt action in the matter.
The Governor has already announced the constitution of the special cell at Raj Bhavan for real-time monitoring of the situation.
Meanwhile, though no fresh incidence of clash or violence occurred in the troubled pockets of the Howrah district, the ambiance continues to be tense there. Constant patrolling in the area by mobile police teams and the ban on gathering in those areas are still in force.
Already, a public interest litigation has been filed by the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Sevendu Adhikari demanding a central agency probe into the clashes over the Ram Navami procession.
Meanwhile, the political slugfest over the clashes is on. On one hand, Trinamool Congress leadership has claimed that tension broke out after the organizers of the procession at Howrah changed the route of the procession at the last moment, while on the other hand, the opposition parties like the BJP, Congress, and CPI(M) claimed that it was a failure on the part of the police that they could not stop the procession from changing the route.
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