At least 50 people were injured and many houses were torched and shops vandalised after clashes broke out between members of two communities at Beldanga area of Murshidabad district in central Bengal, bordering Bangladesh. The injured include at least five women and many others from both the groups, sources said adding the entire area was tense though no new reports of clashes had come in till Sunday evening.
The incident took place late on Saturday night after members of one community resorted to stone-pelting as reports of alleged sacrilegious comments written on electrical light boards at a Kartik Puja pandal in ward number 10 became public. Kartik Puja is usually organised by women who want to become mothers.
“We have detained a number of persons for committing mischief after some people engaged in clashes leading to injuries and some loss of properties,” district Superintendent of Police Surya Pratap Yadav said. Senior officers had rushed to the area with large posse of police rapid action forces, said State DGP Rajiv Kumar while another senior official said that internet facilities had
been shut in the area “though no prohibitory orders have yet been issued considering the festivities.” Some of the injured had been admitted at the Berhampore Medical College and Hospital, sources said.
The incident took place at a time when Bengal Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari alleged in Mumbai how Bengal had become a gateway of Rohingyas. “They are entering India through Bengal as the State Government is not giving land to the BSF for fencing,” he said. Usually a peaceful area, parts of Murshidadad had witnessed communal tensions in May this year when two groups clashed at Rejinagar near Beldanga during the Ram Navami festival leading Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to blame a local monk from Bharat Sevashram Sangha a renowned socio-religious charitable organisation functioning from Kolkata for the riots. Naming a particular monk she said he was “behind the riots in Rejinagar. If he intends to do politics, he should do it with a BJP symbol. He has said Trinamool agents will not be allowed to sit in the booth.”
Around the general elections an alleged provocative comment made by a local Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir threatening the BJP with dire consequences if they would not stop creating trouble too contributed oil to fire. Reminding the sordid fact that the Muslims constitute two-third of the population of Murshidabad district Kabir had said that he had the capacity of disposing of the entire BJP in Bhagirathi River in a matter of two hours. As per 2011 census Murshidabad Muslims constitute about 66.8 percent of the total population whereas Hindus amount to about 33 percent.
Recently an FIR was lodged against Bollywood star-turned-BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty after he warned, in a party meeting, that those who threatened to throw Hindus in Bhagirathi River better watch out. “We will take down four fruits from their trees if they pluck one fruit from ours,” he warned.
Meanwhile, Adhir Chowdhury former Congress MP from Berhampore which is the headquarters of Murshidabad appealed to all to maintain peace and harmony. Praising the administration for taking timely steps he said that his party would cooperate with the police to restore peace in the area.
