Sandeshkhali crisis: AISF’s Naushad Siddique released 8 hours after his arrest in Kolkata

Kolkata: Nearly eight hours after his arrest, Naushad Siddique, the lone All India Secular Front (AISF) legislator was released by Kolkata Police on Tuesday evening.

Naushad Siddique was arrested on Tuesday morning as he tried to proceed towards trouble-ridden Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

After coming out of the police headquarters at Lalbazar in central Kolkata, he threatened to drag the city police authorities to court on charges of illegal arrest.

“The police’s action was against my right to free movement, which is guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. I will move court against those police officials who prevented me from reaching Sandeshkhali. I will make them understand that the democratic rights of a free citizen and a responsible Opposition leader cannot be trampled in such a manner,” Naushad Siddique said.

On Tuesday morning, as the AISF legislator started for Sandeshkhali, he was stopped within the periphery of Kolkata in front of Science City in the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.

As the cops stopped his vehicle, Naushad Siddique entered into a heated argument with them.

Even as he was arrested by the police Naushad Siddique demanded they cite the reason for it, asserting that he had neither breached any rule nor had he tried to move forward by breaking the barricade put up by the cops.

“I have been arrested at a place which is over 60 kms from Sandeshkhali citing Section 144 that has been imposed there. But Section 144 has not been imposed at the place where I have been stopped. Moreover, not more than three persons were with me,” he told newspersons before getting into the prison van.

–IANS

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