Fresh communal violence in Bengal’s Hooghly, train services disrupted

Train services were disrupted as fresh communal violence broke out at Rishra in West Bengal’s Hooghly district on Monday night hours after the Calcutta high court sought a report on the clashes that rocked three districts of the state during Ram Navami celebrations.

The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have traded charges blaming each other over the violence that first erupted in the Howrah district on March 30.

A police officer said the internet was suspended and the Code of Criminal Procedure’s Section 144 barring gathering of over four people was reimposed in Hooghly’s Rishra and Serampore areas after the fresh communal clashes.

Bricks and crude bombs were hurled near the Rishra Railway Station. The violence spilled onto railway tracks and disrupted multiple local and long-distance trains.

A police contingent rushed to the scene and used batons to disperse a mob, which retaliated with stones. A vehicle was also torched.

On Tuesday morning, the riot-torn areas of Hooghly wore a deserted look as most shops were closed. Pickets were set up and a large number of policemen were patrolling the streets.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has put the state on alert ahead of the Hanuman Jayanti celebrations on Thursday. “We all revere Bajrang Bali but they [BJP] should not be allowed to plot more riots. Keep this in mind. They are doing this across the country,” Banerjee said in East Midnapore on Monday.

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari attacked the government over the fresh violence. In a tweet, he cited the suspension of train services on the Howrah-Bardhaman line following violence near the railway station. He added after Railway Protection Force’s action, train services have been restored. Adhikari said Rishra is burning and the entire state administration is enjoying a beach holiday in Digha, where Banerjee was due to address TMC workers.

The violence erupted in the Howrah district on March 30 when stones were allegedly thrown at a Ram Navami procession. It spread to North Dinajpur and Hooghly districts over the next three days and led to the arrests of at least 46 people.

The high court on Monday sought the report on the violence by Wednesday while directing the government to ensure the safety of citizens during Ram Navami celebrations and questioning police efficiency.

Adhikari on March 31 moved the court seeking a National Investigation Agency probe into the clashes even as Banerjee blamed the BJP for the violence.

Internet services were earlier also suspended in the Rishra and Mahesh areas of Hooghly on Sunday while Section 144 too was imposed.

Banerjee on Monday hit out at the BJP and wondered why Ram Navami rallies were being organised for five days. She alleged the rallies were being deliberately taken through Muslim-majority areas without police permission.

Banerjee said they will not object if the BJP organises as many rallies on the day of Ram Navami without carrying weapons.

BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar dismissed the allegations, saying a video showing a man brandishing a revolver at a Ram Navami rally was not shot in Bengal.

Four BJP Lok Sabha members from Bengal separately held a press conference in Delhi and said they will approach President Droupadi Murmu and Union home minister Amit Shah for a federal probe into the violence as Adhikari addressed a rally in East Midnapore as part of preparations for the panchayat elections.

TMC accused the BJP of turning Ram into their political agenda.

In neighbouring Bihar, the government on Monday extended the suspension of mobile internet services in Rohtas and Nalanda districts following communal clashes. A 16-year-old boy was killed in Sasaram last week.