BJP’s Roopa Ganguly held as Basirhat limps back to normal

KOLKATA: West Bengal police arrested several prominent politicians on Friday morning to prevent them from visiting violencehit Basirhat that has been rocked by communal violence over a controversial Facebook post.

The police arrested BJP leaders Roopa Ganguly and Locket Chatterjee near the Kolkata airport when they insisted on proceeding to Basirhat, around 12 kilometres from the Bangladesh border that has seen violence by Muslim mobs and retaliatory attacks over four days.

Earlier, police also prevented a team of Left leaders led by Lok Sabha MP Md Salim and a Congress team from reaching the troubled spot. The Left team was obstructed at Ashoknagar, about 40 kilometres from Basirhat, and the BJP team was intercepted at Michaelnagar, about 50km away.

But the situation in Basirhat was peaceful on Friday morning after meetings between locals and police on Thursday night.

Some shops opened in areas such as Maitra Bagan, Harishpur, Raghunathpur, Tyantra, and Bhyabla in Basirhat on Friday and there were vehicles plying on the roads. There were no reports of any violence from areas such as Swarupnagar and Baduria where the trouble began.

The area continues to be under prohibitory orders and internet services remained suspended for the third day in a row.

On Thursday afternoon, Basirhat turned into a war zone as Hindu mobs clashed with the police and vandalised homes and shops belonging to minorities. The violence ebbed only after Thursday evening.

“After 8pm on Thursday, police officers held extensive meetings with the people in the Hindu-dominated localities of Basirhat town, and following assurances by the officers that the areas will not come under attack from Muslim mobs, road blockades were lifted,” Pintu Hati, a resident of Harishpur, said.