West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar on Monday said he had to cut short his visit in Delhi when he heard that a member of Parliament – Arjun Singh – had been injured. Singh has alleged that police commissioner of Barrackpore, Manoj Verma, had hit him on the head and injured him, which Verma has denied.
The Bengal Governor visited Arjun Singh in hospital and asked him about his health. “I am in pain seeing the violence. West Bengal does not need violence. The state needs peace,” the Governor said.
Trinamool Congress leader Sougata Roy, reacting to the Governor’s comments, said that “a Governor should not make political statements”.
On Sunday, violence erupted in Barrackpore with both police and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claiming that they had been attacked by the other. Police fired in the air to disperse the violent group of people that had attacked them. Police also had to resort to lathicharge to control the violence.
