East Burdwan district police on Thursday slapped stringent charges such as attempt to murder, provoking riots and voluntarily hurting public servants to deter from his duties on 46 CPM workers who were arrested after clashes broke out between party workers and law enforcers during a lawviolation programme in Burdwan on Wednesday.

The CPM said the party was going to oppose the “false charges” and would move court against the police for attacking the workers with disproportionate force and not following any standard operating procedure for crowd dispersal.

“On one hand, we will move court against police atrocities in Burdwan and on the other, we will hit the streets from tomorrow (Friday) to tell the people how the Mamata Banerjee government was gagging voices of dissent in the state. We will also demand unconditional release of those arrested in connection with Wednesday’s protest,” said CPM state secretary Mohd Salim told The Telegraph on Thursday.

Police sources said the accused had also been charged under the prevention of damage to public property act and maintenance of public order and tranquillity (IPC 31). On Thursday, the Burdwan district court sent seven of the accused persons to police custody, whereas it allowed bail for five of them — people who were either under 18 or above 60 — and 33 others were sent to judicial custody.‘‘They (police) have violated guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court and all codes of IPC and CRPC.

They’ve used disproportionate brute force against our workers,’’ Salim said. Anirban Roy Choudhury, a member of CPM district committee and secretary of the district unit of the party’s student wing SFI, is one of the accused who has been sent to police custody.Salim also accused Trinamul workers of ransacking multiple offices of the CPM in East Burdwan in the presence of the police. He also alleged that the police had threatened the arrested women party supporters with rape.Police sources said among those arrested, women and elderly persons were released late on Wednesday night.Among the arrested individuals are CPM’s central committee member Abhas Roy Choudhury, who unsuccessfully contested the 2021 Assembly polls from the BurdwanDurgapur constituency. Several other district leaders have also been arrested.

As “evidence” of police atrocities on protesters on Wednesday, the CPM has circulated a video where a cop holds Abhas by his collar and the central committee member is heard telling a journalist how the police had provoked the crowd.As Abhas is being taken away by the cop and he keeps speaking about police atrocities, a policeman can be seen hitting him with a baton. The cop holding Abhas intervenes to accuse the CPM leader of pelting stones at them.

At this, reacts vehemently and asks the cop to stop telling lies. Abhas was produced in court today and remanded in jail.

Speaking about Wednesday’s protest and accusation of CPM party offices being attacked, Trinamul’s East Burdwan MLA Khokan Das said: “Our party workers were desperate to attack their offices but I did not allow that to happen since Mamata Banerjee preaches peace. We want to show the people of Bengal that if CPM comes back to power this is the kind of atrocities they will unleash.’’Reacting to the MLA’s comment, Salim said what Das said proved that his party members had the habit of ransacking CPM offices. ‘‘This is how they have become MLAs. By ransacking our party offices,’’ he said.