On Tuesday, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee pulled no punches when she said the situation in parts of North 24 Paraganas district, adjacent to Kolkata, was “serious.”
“It is a serious situation and the State government is adopting serious measures to contain it,” Ms Banerjee said. The State government has rushed 400 BSF personnel to the district after communal tensions flared up following a social media post.
The problem began on Sunday night following the social media post on Islam and Prophet Mohammad by a young man, Souvik Sarkar, from Rudrapur village in North 24 Parganas district. Mr Sarkar has since been arrested.
Though tensions rose from early on Monday, the district police took at least a day to assess the situation and take action to defuse the tensions.
A senior BSF officer said four companies of the force’s South Bengal Frontier have been deployed in Bashirhat, Swarupnagar, Baduria and Devganga areas to assist the State police in containing the situation. No one was “killed or severely hurt”, the police sources said.
At least three blocks in the district were severely affected as residents blocked the roads. Schools, colleges and offices were shut down as clashes broke out. Shops belonging to members of both communities were damaged in Tentuliya area of Swarupnagar block.
The West Bengal chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami has appealed for peace in the district. The organisation’s Bengal president Md. Nuruddin requested the State government to “monitor” social media and said the post against the religious sentiment of the community was an attempt to “spread hatred and anger” in the State.
Demanding Army deployment, State secretary of CPI(M) Surjya kanta Mishra said an all party meeting should be convened to diffuse the tension. “All must be united for peace and amity. Defeat polarisation politics,” Mr Mishra said on Twitter.
(This report referred to a young man who is almost 18 years old by name; a photograph of his accompanied it. It was not known at the time of filing the report that he is a minor.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, Section 74, lays down that no media report on “any inquiry or investigation or judicial procedure, shall disclose the name, address or school or any other particular which may lead to the identification of a child in conflict with law…” The Hindu apologises for the error of judgment, caused by the confusion about the boy’s age at lack of clarity at the time of going to press.
- Editor)
