The West Bengal Police initiated legal proceedings on Friday by filing a First Information Report (FIR) against unidentified leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in connection with an incident where a Sikh police officer was derogatorily labelled as a "Khalistani."
The occurrence unfolded during a BJP rally in Sandeshkhali, as depicted in a video shared by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, wherein the IPS officer, Jaspreet Singh, questioned the use of the term and pondered if such a label would have been applied had he not been wearing a turban.
Jaspreet Singh, a 2016 batch IPS officer presently serving as the Special Superintendent (Intelligence) at West Bengal Police, was identified as the subject of the incident. A video released by the West Bengal Police accused BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari of employing the 'Khalistani' slur against the Sikh officer.
The FIR, lodged on Friday, invoked Sections 295A (Deliberate and malicious intention of outraging religious feelings), 505(2) (Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred, or ill-will between classes), and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
The complaint, filed by Gurmeet Singh, alleged that "unknown BJP leaders/members" intentionally labelled the Sikh police officer as a 'Khalistani' to provoke religious sentiments and foster animosity and ill-will among communities.
The BJP, in response, accused the Sikh IPS officer of violating a Calcutta High Court order that permitted the party's leader and West Bengal Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, to visit Sandeshkhali.
The area had witnessed heightened tensions due to allegations against Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his supporters of "land-grabbing and sexually assaulting" women under duress. Mamata Banerjee's posting of the video was met with the BJP's accusation that she was attempting to divert attention from the Sandeshkhali incident.
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