Prohibitory orders have been imposed and internet services suspended in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district following violent clashes.
Yet another Hindu festival marred by violence in Mamata Banerjee’s West Bengal.
In Murshidabad’s Beldanga, Hindu homes are attacked on Kartik Puja, while her police remain spineless spectators.
How long will Hindus suffer under her appeasement politics? This lawlessness must… pic.twitter.com/ioOSKxmb6y
— BJP West Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) November 17, 2024
The unrest began on Friday night over an allegedly objectionable message written on a neon sign board at a Kartik Puja pandal in Beldanga. As the news of the sign board spread, tensions escalated, leading to mobs on both sides throwing bricks at each other, resulting in vandalism and arson.
Malicious efforts are being made from certain quarters to spread misinformation and rumours about last night’s incident at Beldanga in Murshidabad where clashes took place between two groups over some condemnable mischief. President and secretary of the committee where this…
— West Bengal Police (@WBPolice) November 17, 2024
Shops and houses were ransacked and a police vehicle was damaged during the violence, which also spread to adjacent areas of Kazisaha and Begunbari. To control the situation, the police resorted to a lathi charge while the district administration imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), a provision that prohibits gatherings of more than five people. A senior police officer from Murshidabad district stated, “We have so far arrested more than 15 persons.” The Kolkata-Murshidabad Bhagirathi Express was delayed by three hours on Friday due to the clashes.
The exact number of wounded individuals remains unclear. Authorities continue to monitor the situation closely to prevent further violence.
Beldanga in West Bengal’s Murshidabad continues to simmer as Muslim rioters hold the town to ransom. Last evening, the rampaging mobs targeted Hindu deities, pelted stones on Kartik Puja pandals and brutalised West Bengal police.
All because Mamata Banerjee won’t stop appeasing… pic.twitter.com/Fri0isbNU2— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 17, 2024
Several people were injured in communal clashes in Beldanga town and surrounding areas in Bengal’s Murshidabad district on Saturday night, police said.
The superintendent of police, Surya Pratap Yadav, mentioned on Sunday, “Several persons have been injured and several detained.” However, he did not share the exact figures. Local residents claimed that at least 50 people from both communities suffered injuries, and more than 30 houses were either ransacked or set on fire. The worst affected area is said to be Beldanga’s civic ward 10.
Authorities deployed a huge police contingent, including the rapid action force, in the affected neighborhoods and shut down internet facilities across the entire Murshidabad district until 8 am on November 19.
Unrest over objectionable neon sign
“The clashes started during the celebration of Kartick Puja by community clubs at Beldanga.
It is alleged that a sacrilegious comment was written with bulbs on an electrical display board, which triggered tension around 8:30 pm on Saturday,” said a local police officer who requested anonymity. “Four Beldanga residents, including a woman, have been admitted to Berhampore Medical College and Hospital. A rapid action force personnel also suffered injuries while trying to stop the clashes,” the officer added.
Although the authorities did not impose prohibitory orders in the affected zone in view of the festival, police did not allow the Bharatiya Janata Party’s former Bengal unit president, Dilip Ghosh, to visit Beldanga. Ghosh, who reached Murshidabad to participate in a Kartick Puja procession at Beldanga, was escorted out of the district by a police team, officials said. Former state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who represented the Berhampore Lok Sabha seat five times, visited the hospital to inquire about the injured people.
“The administration has taken the right steps. We are cooperating with the government. I appeal to all to maintain harmony.
All communities have lived peacefully in Murshidabad for centuries,” Chowdhury said. No fresh clashes were reported till Sunday afternoon. “All police officers who earlier served in the Beldanga zone have been brought back temporarily from their current locations in view of the situation,” an officer said.
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