Thirty-two people have so far been arrested in connection with the arson and ransacking of private and public properties in the wake of Friday’s crash at Behala Chowrasta, police said.
“Eighteen people, including two women, have been arrested in connection with cases lodged at Thakurpukur police station. Fourteen people have been picked up in cases lodged at Behala police station,” an officer at Lalbazar said on Saturday.
All 32 were remanded in police custody till August 9, the officer said.
Following the accident on Friday, protesters took over a large stretch of Diamond Harbour Road. Mayhem followed, in which several vehicles were torched and the Diamond Harbour Road traffic guard’s
office was ransacked and set ablaze, Traffic of the thoroughfare was choked for close to four hours.
On Saturday, police commissioner Vineet Goyal said necessary measures were being taken to ensure road safety in Behala and he was overseeing the arrangements himself.
Visiting the accident site on Saturday afternoon to take a stock of the arrangements that were being put in place, Goyal said Kolkata was way ahead of Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi in terms of road safety and accident figures.
“It is not a claim. The figures on road safety and accidents of Kolkata compared to Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi are there for everyone to see,” Goyal said.
“It’s not that drivers are always at fault. Even pedestrians make mistakes. The awareness of pedestrians needs to be improved.”
