BJP Birbhum neta held for June club blast

SURI: BJP Birbhum secretary Atanu Chatterjee was arrested from his Mallarpur home late on Monday over a blast at a local club on June 30. A Rampurhat court remanded him in 7-day police custody.
Police slapped non-bailable charges on Chatterjee, including hoarding explosives, murder and ransacking a police station. They also booked him under the Arms Act.
Following the blast at Mallarpur’s Meghdoot Club, Trinamool Birbhum president Anubrata Mandal had claim-ed BJP had been piling bombs and explosives from Jharkhand at the club.
He had also accused police of calling in fire tenders to douse the flames, arguing the water might have destroyed evidence.
Chatterjee’s arrest comes two days after BJP Yuva Morcha state vice-president Dhruba Saha was picked up from Nalhati soon after he arrived from Suri. Police slapped similar charges on Saha. Both BJP leaders have been accused of going on the rampage in Mayureswar and Nanoor police station areas. They had led the roadblocks on the Sainthia-Suri highway last week to protest BJP activist Swarup Garai’s killing. Protesters had also mobbed the Mallarpur police station.
The same day, Birbhum Police picked up BJP district president Shyamapada Mondal from the dharna site in front of the Bolpur Sian hospital.
BJP leaders in the district see a design in the arrests. “Police are slapping non-bailable charges on district organisers on the instructions of TMC leaders. This is a planned conspiracy to pressure our leaders and scare away workers from BJP activities. But it is a great mistake being committed by TMC and police. We will organize stronger agitations through our district and challenge their vindictive actions both in court and on the street,” said BJP district vice-president Abhijit Sinha.
Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh announced a week-long protest across the district against the arrests on flimsy grounds. Trinamool leaders have rubbished the charges.