Man dies of injuries, fresh clashes erupt in West Bengal

A 65-year-old man died of stab wounds in Kolkata on Thursday as fresh violence erupted in parts of West Bengal’s Basirhat region, which was rocked by communal clashes over a Facebook post.

Kartik Ghosh was attacked by mobs with sharp objects when he was returning home on a motorcycle on Wednesday. This was the first death in violence that has swept the Basirhat region, barely 12 kilometres from the Bangladesh border, and has injured at least 23 people.

Since Sunday evening, Muslim mobs have set shops and buildings on fire and clashed with police, angered by an offensive post on Facebook by a Class 11 Hindu student.

As tensions rose on Thursday, mobs attacked a dargah and vandalised shops and houses of Muslims in what locals described as retaliatory attacks. Policemen struggled for hours to disperse the crowd by caning and firing tear gas shells, without much success. Angry mobs set tyres on fire and sounds of local-made bombs exploding could also be heard.

The house of a local Trinamool politician and a party office also came under attack from a Hindu mob the same evening. “I was at the Basirhat police station when a group of anti-social elements descended on my house around 5.30 pm,” Basirhat (south) MLA Dipendu Biswas told HT.

Reports emerged that Trinamool leaders were unhappy with Biswas’ activities in the area, and have summoned him to the party office in Kolkata on Friday. Residents of Harishpur and Mailakhola villages also alleged that the MLA accompanied the police when they went to Hindudominated areas in search of weapons.

The area continues to be under prohibitory orders and internet services remained suspended for the second day.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has asked all political parties to refrain from visiting the riot-affected zone until peace is restored. “Please cooperate with the government,” she said on Thursday evening.

While the BJP accused Banerjee of appeasing Muslims, the ruling Trinamool Congress alleged the saffron party was inciting communal passions for electoral gains.

Three BJP MPs are scheduled to visit Basirhat on Friday, and submit a report to party chief Amit Shah. But sources said the administration might block their entry, setting the stage for fresh confrontation.

Locals blamed police and security forces for instigating the violence and acting in a partisan manner. “Police are raiding the houses of the victims, instead of arresting the rioters,” said state BJP president Dilip Ghosh.

In Kolkata, scuffles broke out at the RG Kar Hospital between Trinamool Congress and BJP workers after Ghosh’s death.