Kolkata: A minor dispute over the land of a temporary shop led to a significant clash between two groups. Approximately 11 people, including five police officers, sustained severe injuries during the mob violence, which escalated to stone-pelting on the outskirts of Kolkata. The West Bengal police arrested around 12 individuals last night.
As per the statements from police, the clash arose over a dispute on a temporary shop land in the Rabindranagar area of Maheshtala, South 24 Parganas district bordering Kolkata. The dispute took the shape of mob violence and quickly spread to Nadiyal, which falls under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Police.
According to a senior police officer, on Wednesday, a seller from Nadiyal found that the place in the Rabindranagar area where he could not install his temporary shop for a few days had a Tulsi plant. When he tried to reclaim his area, it turned into a scuffle between the two groups.
The dispute turned violent when a large group was called in from Nadiyal by the seller. Though the police tried to calm down the situation, it led to a violent clash, including stone-pelting and vandalism of some shops.
By afternoon, the situation tensed in Nadiyal. A senior police officer said that a mob burnt motorbikes and police vehicles. Some policemen were also injured, though there were no serious injuries.
The opposition BJP demanded deployment of Central Forces to contain the situation, accusing the TMC government of “Muslim appeasement”. Sukanta Majumdar, Union Minister and West Bengal BJP president, accused that despite knowing the culprits, the police took actions against the victims due to “Muslim appeasement”. He said that the government has, over and over again, overlooked the attacks on Bengali Hindus in Muslim-majority areas of West Bengal.
