Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former mayor of Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate Jitendra Tiwari was arrested on Saturday from Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradesh in connection with a stampede during a blanket distribution program in December 2022.
Three persons including a minor died in the stampede and the Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate registered a case under sections 304(2) (death by negligence), 308 against Mr. Tiwari and his wife Chaitali Tiwari. (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
Exhausted Legal Options
The BJP leader has approached the Calcutta High Court and the arrest comes after Mr Tiwari exhausted his legal options. The Asansol police had earlier questioned Mr. Tiwari and his wife in the stampede case.
The arrest has drawn a strong reaction from the state BJP leadership and state party president Sukanta Majumdar that the state’s ruling party, the Trinamool Congress, is harassing Mr. Tiwari and pressurizing him to return to its fold. Mr Tiwari had joined the BJP ahead of the 2021 assembly polls, which he contested from Pandabeswar and lost to Trinamool Congress candidate Narendranath Chakraborty.
Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Shubhendu Adhikari was also present at the event where the stampede took place. After the incident, the officer had alleged that the security was withdrawn after he left the venue.
ISF MLA assaulted
Also on Saturday, India Secular Front MLA Naushad Siddiqui was attacked at the protest site of a joint platform of state government employees demanding dearness allowance parity with central government employees. Mr Siddiqui was pushed by a stranger when he was addressing a gathering at the Esplanade, where protesters have been demonstrating for almost a month. Later the criminal was handed over to the police.