Bengal: 2 days after clash, uneasy calm as Rabindranagar returns to normalcy
AN UNEASY calm prevails in Rabindranagar and surrounding areas, including Maheshtala, days after Wednesday's clashes. Residents remain largely indoors, with shops and markets shut, as a massive police deployment keeps a tight vigil over the affected localities.
Prohibitory orders are still in place.
'Shops are still shut, markets too,' said Praveen Sharma, a youth residing near the Akra fish market.
The violence, which erupted on Wednesday afternoon in Maheshtala under the Rabindranagar police station limits, resulted in injuries to many. According to sources, the flashpoint was an attempt to construct a 'tulsi mancha' (a platform for a sacred basil plant) at a site where a fruit seller, a member of a minority community, previously had a thela shop.
The dispute quickly escalated into a skirmish between two groups, leading to widespread vandalism, brick-pelting and attacks on police personnel.
Several police vehicles were damaged and at least five police personnel suffered injuries.
A large number of personnel from various police stations, including those from Akra Station to Baratola, have been deployed across the Rabindranagar police station area since Thursday. Round-the-clock patrolling and loudspeaker announcements are being conducted to reassure residents and deter any further disturbances. Areas that witnessed vandalism and brick-pelting have been cleaned up, police sources said.
So far, a total of 40 people have been arrested in connection with the clashes in Maheshtala. While 28 arrests were made by the police in South 24 Parganas district, 12 were made by the Kolkata Police. Authorities anticipate that the number of arrests will rise as police are likely to conduct special drives to apprehend more trouble-mongers.
The police have issued warnings against rumor-mongering and said strict action would be taken against anyone attempting to incite unrest. 'Sustained police presence and ongoing probe aim to restore complete normalcy,' said an officer.
Sweety Kumari reports from West Bengal for The Indian Express. She is a journalist with over a decade of experience in the media industry. Covers Crime, Defence, Health , Politics etc and writes on trending topics.
With a keen eye for investigative and human-interest stories. She has honed her craft across diverse beats including aviation, health, incidents etc. Sweety delivers impactful journalism that informs and engages audiences.
Sweety Kumari is a graduate of Calcutta University with an Honors degree in Journalism from Jaipuria College and a PG in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University. Originally from Bihar, she is brought up in Kolkata and completed her education from Kendriya Vidyalaya SaltLake. Multilingual, Sweety is fluent in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Maithili. She started her career as an Entertainment and lifestyle journalist with a newsportal in Kolkata. She is working with The Indian Express for 8 years now. ... Read More
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
3 days after communal violence rocked Maheshtala, Bengal Police transfer local SDPO, inspector-in-charge
Three days after communal violence broke out in Maheshtala near Kolkata, the West Bengal Police Saturday transferred the sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Maheshtala. As per a notification of the West Bengal Police Directorate, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, Maheshtala SDPO Kamrujjaman Molla has been transferred as assistant commandant of the State Armed Police (SAP) 3rd Battalion. Molla has been replaced by Syed Rezual Kabir, who was the inspector-in-charge of Rajarhat police station in the North 24 Parganas. Meanwhile, Mukul Mia, Inspector-in-Charge, Rabindranagar police station, Diamond Harbour Police District, has been transferred to Darjeeling. Sujan Kumar Ray, who was previously posted as circle inspector, Ratha, Malda, has been appointed as the new inspector-in-charge of Rabindranagar police station. Police sources, though, termed these transfers as routine. On Wednesday afternoon, clashes broke out at Ward Number 7 in Maheshtala over the setting up of a shop. It took a communal turn with some people alleging that a 'tulsi mancha' (a platform for a holy basil plant) was vandalised. The violence between the two groups quickly escalated, with mobs throwing stones at the police personnel who tried to control the situation. According to police sources, the situation is now under control. The area where the violence broke out falls under the overlapping jurisdiction of the Kolkata Police and the West Bengal Police. Till now, around 40 people have been arrested for their role in the violence. About a dozen personnel of the Kolkata Police, including the deputy commissioner of the Port area, were injured in the clashes. Seven FIRs have been registered in connection with the violence. All the arrests took place on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Calcutta High Court demanding CRPF deployment in the area. He has also moved the high court seeking permission to meet the Hindu families whose houses and shops had been allegedly affected in the violence.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Basirhat police in Bengal arrest 22 ‘Rohingya people' living in under-construction house
Basirhat police in West Bengal on Friday arrested 22 people, including two pregnant women, alleged to be Rohingya after they recently started living in an under-construction house in Baduria. Sources with the police said that on Friday, residents of Labanga village under Sayestanagar Gram Panchayat in Baduria noticed that some people were staying in an under-construction house in the area. They approached the occupants of the house and questioned them, following which it emerged that they were Rohingya. Subsequently, the villagers detained all of them and informed the police. Officers arrived soon and arrested them, sources said. Hossain Mehedi Rehman, Superintendent of Police (SP), Basirhat, said, 'We arrested all 22 suspects. We are investigating why they came here and what their identity is.' A senior police officer said, 'Women and children are also there in the group. Two women are pregnant. Some of them also have refugee cards.' According to the Baduria police, when the accused were questioned, it came to light that they had infiltrated into India from Bangladesh more than 10 years ago. They then went to Hyderabad and worked as daily-wage labourers and ragpickers. During the last one month, when local residents there started identifying them as Bangladeshi immigrants, the group fled to West Bengal, planning to make their way back to Bangladesh through illegal means, officers said. Till then, they planned to stay at the under-construction house. Panchayat member Hakim Sheikh said, 'Residents felt suspicious seeing strangers in the area in a large group. We informed the police and administration. The police then arrested all of them.' Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
3 hours ago
- Business Standard
Chhattisgarh replaces Urdu-Persian words with Hindi in police functioning
The Chhattisgarh government has replaced Urdu and Persian words used in police official records with Hindi terms that can be easily understood by a layperson, in order to make policing more accessible, transparent and communicative, an official here said on Saturday. Replacing 'halafnama' with 'shapath patra' (affidavit), 'dafa' with 'dhara' (section), 'fariyadi' with 'shikayatkarta' (complainant) and 'chasmdid' with 'pratyakshdarshi' (eyewitness) are some of the examples of this. On the instructions of Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, who also holds the home portfolio, the Director General of Police (DGP) has issued a letter to the district Superintendents of Police (SPs) in this regard stating that difficult and traditional words used in police functioning should be changed with simple and clear Hindi terms, an official statement said. A list of 109 words with their Hindi alternatives have been provided with the letter suggesting to be used in place of old difficult words, it said. When a common citizen visits a police station for any complaint, crime information or other work, he/she is often confused about the language used in the FIR or other documents of the police. Words of other languages are unknown to common people, due to which they are neither able to explain their point properly nor understand the entire process properly, Deputy CM Sharma said on Friday. If the purpose of the police is to help and protect the citizens, then its language should also be such that it is understood by the citizens and increases their confidence, he added. According to the statement, it has also been directed in this letter that all the subordinate officers should be made aware of the change and it should be ensured that the order should not remain a mere formality but its actual implementation should be seen in every police post, police station and office of the state. The Chhattisgarh police will now not only become an institution that enforces law but also become a medium of public communication. This simplification of language will help the complainant to clearly state, hear and understand their case. Procedures like FIR, which was so far understood only by advocates or police personnel, will now be understandable to the common citizens too, it added. Some of the words which will be replaced with simple Hindi terms are 'khayanat' to be replaced with 'hadapna' (to usurp), 'goshwara' with 'naksha' (map), 'nakabjani' with 'sendh' (burglary), 'maal mashruka' with 'looti-chori ki gai sampatti' (looted assets), 'rojnamcha' with 'samanya dainiki' (general diary), 'shinakht' with 'pehchan' (identification), 'adalat diwani' with 'civil nyayalay' (civil court), 'faujdari adalat' with 'dandik nyayalay' (criminal court), 'jarayam' with 'apradh' (crime), 'jaydade mashruka' with 'kurk hui sampatti' (confiscated property), 'zilabadar' with 'nirvasan' (externment) and 'sakin' with 'pata' (address), it said.
