Clarion India
KOLKATA — After fresh cases of violence were reported in Telinipara in West Bengal’s Hooghly district on Tuesday, West Bengal authorities imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The area witnessed violent clashes between two communities on Sunday.
As per the local media reports, the violence broke out over movement of people from one Coronavirus containment zone into another to use public toilets.
The #CommunalViolence in Telinipara of Hooghly, West Bengal, continued through yesterday.
A mob reportedly armed with guns and bombs pounced on a #Muslim slum, set alight and vandalised it, after its residents had fled their homes, fearing for their lives.#TeliniparaViolence pic.twitter.com/QdKzkTlSSI
— Shaikh Azizur Rahman (@AzizurTweets) May 13, 2020
The trouble started brewing on Sunday evening after members from one community were allegedly addressed as “corona” by a few locals belonging to another group.
Chandannagar Police Commissioner Humayun Kabir has claimed that the communal clashes were triggered after Muslims were allegedly taunted by ‘corona’ jibes. He claimed that following the verbal spat, the Hindus barricaded the public toilets used by the Muslims which led to violence, as reported in OpIndia.
Some media reports say that clashes erupted in Telinipara after Muslims in the locality allegedly refused to follow lockdown orders as a number of Muslims had returned from Ajmer had allegedly tested positive for Coronavirus.
However, on Sunday, when Police saw that the lockdown was being violated, they tried to take those who tested positive to an isolation ward. In the process, the area was also barricaded.
According to sources the police faced the ire of the locals when they made an attempt to take the patients to the isolation ward. Thereafter, people from a neighbouring locality descended on the area demanding that no one from there be allowed to move out, reports The Quint.
The people from the other locality then started creating their own barricades around the area, and that is when clashes between the two groups started.
Meanwhile, in fresh cases of violence on Tuesday several homes were set on fire, shops were vandalised and vehicles destroyed.
To bring the situation under control the police had to lob tear gas shells and conduct lathi-charge on mobs from rival communities. So far over 56 people are reported to have been arrested.
There were also allegations of police throwing stones at the houses of Muslim residents.
During #DelhiViolence we saw police side with the Hindu rioters and throw stones at #Muslims.
Now, after #CommunalViolence has broken out in Telinipara area of Hooghly, West Bengal, local policemen were found pelting stones at Muslim households in the same style today. pic.twitter.com/TDzdF3efUY
— Shaikh Azizur Rahman (@AzizurTweets) May 12, 2020
There was massive police deployment in the area and as per the media report, the Rapid Action Force (RAF) was conducting peace marches.
