Kolkata: More than 30 people have been detained in connection with sporadic clashes that broke out between two communities in South Kolkata’s Mominpur, sources said on Monday.
A huge police contingent has been deployed in the troubled area to prevent the further eruption of clashes that started late on Sunday night and continued till this morning.
Local residents have informed the police that what started as verbal spats between two groups resulted in clashes. Some houses in Mominpur and adjacent Mayurbhanj Roads were also ransacked. The police tried to control the situation and in that process, some cops, including a deputy commissioner of police, were also injured. A group of people also staged a protest in front of the local Ekbalpur police station.
On Monday, after the BJP state president in West Bengal and party MP Sukanta Majumdar started moving towards the troubled zone, a huge police contingent stopped him from approaching that spot. Majumdar, along with four of his associates, was also detained.
Leader of the opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding the deployment of central forces personnel at the troubled zones in the city.
He also criticised the city police for detaining Sukanta Majumdar and denying his democratic right to reach the troubled zone. “Try as much as you can. But you will not be able to stop the BJP,” Adhikari said.
A war of words broke out between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP on Monday over clashes between two groups in the Khidderpore-Mominpur area of Kolkata, that left several people injured.
The saffron camp claimed that law and order have worsened in West Bengal, drawing a sharp retort from the ruling TMC which accused the BJP of trying to vitiate the atmosphere of the state.
BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, who tried to visit the area, was stopped and arrested on Monday.
Police said that clashes broke out between two groups in the Khidderpore-Mominpur area on Sunday evening over some local issues, in which several people were injured. The agitators also staged a protest outside the Ekbalpur police station.
Personnel of the police including those of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) were deployed in the area.
“I have written to Hon’ble Union Home Minister Shri@AmitShah Ji & Hon’ble Governor Shri La Ganesan Ji requesting them to urgently deploy Central Forces in the wake of Mominpur violence & ransacking of Ekbalpur Police Station before the Law & Order situation of WB gets out of hand,” Leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari tweeted.
Majumdar, who wanted to visit the area, was stopped at the Chingrighata area in north Kolkata and was asked to go back as Prohibitory Orders under Section 144 of the CrPC had been imposed in the area.
“Sukanta Majumdar was later arrested and taken to Lalbazar police headquarters,” a senior police official said
Hitting out at the saffron camp for allegedly trying to vitiate the atmosphere of the state, senior TMC leader Sougata Roy said the police had taken all the steps needed to bring the situation under control.
“The miscreants have been arrested. What will Sukanta Majumdar do by going there apart from giving hate speeches? The BJP is trying to vitiate the atmosphere of the state. The BJP should stop politicising every incident,” Roy said.
(With Inputs from Agencies)
