Kolkata: Police arrest fourth person, allegedly a BJP supporter, for shouting ‘goli maaro’ slogan
Sujit Barua has been booked for promoting enmity between different groups and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony and criminal intimidation.
The Kolkata Police on Tuesday said they have arrested a fourth person, allegedly a Bharatiya Janata Party supporter, for shouting the slogan “desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro salon ko [shoot the bloody traitors]” during a march to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally in the city on Sunday, PTI reported. Sujit Barua, 51, a resident of Sodepur in North 24 Parganas district, was taken into custody on Monday night after the police identified him in CCTV footage.
Barua has been booked for promoting enmity between different groups and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony, criminal intimidation, committing public mischief and common intention – the same charges slapped against the other three accused, the police officer said. The other accused – Pankaj Kumar, Surendra Kumar Tewary and Dhruba Basu were sent to police custody on Monday. However, the court quickly granted Basu bail, due to his age.
The police have shared the video of the event with the home department. It is being examined to nab the remaining suspects.
In the past few weeks, the slogan – “desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro saalon ko” – has become a rallying cry for hardline Hindutva supporters as a response to those opposed to the Citizenship Amendment Act.
The BJP, including Amit Shah himself, has distanced itself from the slogan, but during the Delhi Assembly election campaign, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur egged on BJP supporters at a rally to chant it. Controversial BJP leader Kapil Mishra shouted the slogan at a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act rally in Delhi last month.