Did a BJP Legislator File a Complaint Against Kolkata Police Commissioner for Disrespecting the Tricolour?

Kolkata, Aug 11 (NationPress) BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh has formally submitted a complaint against Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma for allegedly showing disrespect to the national flag during the recent Nabanna Avijan (march to state secretariat).

The Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, shared a copy of the complaint on his social media account and urged for a First Information Report (FIR) to be filed against the police commissioner under the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, citing the trampling of the national flag and breach of the Flag Code of India 2002.

"BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh has lodged a criminal complaint against Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma and other police officials at Park Street Police Station," stated Adhikari.

"During the peaceful Nabanna march, the demonstrators carried the national flag. The police officers on duty displayed contempt by seizing the Indian national flag from the crowd, subsequently tossing it to the ground, and ultimately trampling it, culminating in a grave act of disrespect," the BJP leader continued.

He also shared a video of the occurrence, criticizing the city police commissioner for employing batons against the peaceful march participants.

"Under the directives of Manoj Kumar Verma, the Kolkata Police exhibited barbaric behavior last Saturday. Both men and women were subjected to indiscriminate lathi charges, leading to hundreds of injuries, including those of Sister Abhaya's parents. The people of Bengal have witnessed the injuries inflicted on Sister Abhaya's mother from police batons," Adhikari added.

He further drew comparisons between the Kolkata Police and the British Police from the pre-Independence era for their alleged actions.

"The manner in which the national flag of India, our cherished tricolor, was disrespected resembled the actions of the British Police insulting the national flag! Consequently, a complaint has been lodged against you under the relevant sections of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, for trampling on the national flag and violating the Flag Code of India 2002. We will see you in court," the BJP leader concluded.

The first anniversary of the tragic rape and murder of a junior doctor from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was overshadowed by significant violence following clashes between police and protesters during the Nabanna Avijan.

The victim's mother alleged that she was assaulted by police officers after attempting to march toward Nabanna with her husband and other demonstrators. Both she and BJP leaders claimed that during the police action, her sacred conch shell bangle, a traditional symbol of married Hindu women, was broken.