India News | NHRC Notice to WB Police over Ram Navami Violence

New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI) The NHRC has sent a notice to the West Bengal police chief and the Howrah police commissioner over an alleged attack on a Ram Navami procession, officials said on Friday.

In a statement, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) observed that the allegations, if true, amount to a failure of authorities to exercise due diligence to avert the incident.

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The commission has taken "cognisance of a complaint alleging an attack by miscreants on Sri Ram Navami Shobhayatra despite permission from the authorities in the area under Shibpur Police Station, Howrah District, West Bengal on 30th March, 2023," it said.

The alleged armed attack was done with the malafide intention to ruin the peaceful yatra and to cause grievous injuries to its participants in order to frighten and deter them from organising such an event in the future, the rights panel said.

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It added that the police allegedly refused to accept a written complaint to take action in the matter against the "miscreants".

The Constitution of India entitles all persons to the freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion, the statement said.

"The State is answerable, if these rights are abrogated without substantive reasons. Accordingly, it has issued notices to the Director General of Police, West Bengal, and the Commissioner of Police, Howrah, directing them to inquire into the matter, and submit a report within two weeks. They have also been asked to ensure that proper legal procedure is followed in the investigation in the matter, and no one is subjected to hardship due to any illegal action of the police," it said.

The report must contain the details of the FIR registered, the status of the investigation, and the arrest, if any, in the matter. It should include the number of people injured, the treatment given to them, and also the details of the destruction of property, if any. It should also mention the safety measures taken to avoid such incidents, the statement said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)