BJP supporters stage protest in Kolkata demanding immediate identification of Pakistani citizens

Kolkata: BJP supporters on Monday staged a protest outside the South 24 Parganas district magistrate’s office here demanding the identification, arrest and deportation of Pakistani citizens living in India, following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam.

Around 200 BJP members led by senior leader Debasree Choudhury gathered near the administrative building in Alipore and accused the state government of not acting quickly on Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s directive to remove Pakistani nationals from all the states and take legal action.

"We have reasons to believe that many Pakistani nationals are hiding in South 24 Parganas and other parts of West Bengal. After the Pahalgam attack, Shah spoke to several state governments about tracking them. Other states responded, but Bengal hasn’t taken much action," alleged Choudhury, a former Union minister.

The protest led to clashes with police, who had barricaded Judges Court Road, causing traffic disruption for about an hour.

The district magistrate’s office shares its compound with the West Bengal police headquarters, Bhavani Bhavan, and the district sessions court.

The Pahalgam attack on April 22 killed 26 people, including 25 tourists.

The central government blamed Pakistan for supporting terrorists to disturb peace in Kashmir, which had recently seen a surge in tourism.