By Mirza Mosaraf Hossain, TwoCircles.net
With Durga Puja just a week away, West Bengal saw communal tensions again, this time in Nadia district, over accusations of the presence of beef in a Hindu locality. Four Muslims were beaten up following this incident, of which one is in serious condition. The police have imposed Section 144 of the IPC until further notice. On Friday evening, Hindus of Patikabari village located about 35 km from Nakashipara block and 166 km from Kolkata, marched towards the Nakashipara police station chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’, ‘Bharat mata ki jay’ and abusive anti-Muslim slogans.
They complained that the Muslims of the village had left slices of beef in the Hindu colony of the village, namely Mathpara. The crowded mob, during their return through the Chenga village from the police station, broke the doors and walls of the village mosque at around 7.30 P.M. This led a tussle between the two communities in two villages.
At around 8.30 P.M, the agitated mob of Bethuadahari locality, 36 km from Patikabari village, hit Murad Rahaman Mallick(24), Mizai Sk, Oliullah Mondal of Chenga village and one Imam, namely Kochi Sk from the Bethuadahari locality at Galaidori More of Nichu Bazar. They were all returning to their villages from Bethuadahari. Mizai Sk, who was taken to hospital for treatment and is now back home, spoke with TwoCircles.net. He said, “I run a small business at Bethuadahari. Yesterday, at around 9.30 P.M, I was coming back to my home. But at Galaidori More, my bike was stopped by 300-350 people who asked me my name and village. Then suddenly they started to hit me and forced me to say ‘Jay Shri Ram’. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital. I don’t know who carried me over here.” He added that he needed nine stitches for his injury.
When we spoke to Murad Rahaman Mallick about his mishap, he said, “I was returning from Bethuadahari hospital with my cousin after meeting another cousin who was admitted to the hospital. The key of my bike was taken by some people who were about 300-400 in number. I recognised a few of them and some of them asked me my name. Then suddenly, somebody hit me with some rod or bamboos compelling me to say ‘Jay Shri Ram’. We ran away from the place leaving my bike,” he said.
Mukul Mia, the Officer-in-Charge of Nakashipara Police Station, said despite these incidents, the situation is now under control. “Till now 28 alleged persons are arrested from the two communities and they have been dispatched to the court. Further investigation is going on,” he told TwoCircles.net.
This area had also seen communal tensions in July 2017, when an imam was beaten up on his way to a nearby village mosque.
For the last three years, Bengal has witnessed many grave communal tensions, and recent incidents in places like Bashirhat-Baduria, Dhulagarh, Islampur of Uttar Dinajpur district and Nakashipara block of Nadia district prove that the Mamata government and the people of West Bengal are unlikely to get much relief from communal polarisation being spread by the right-wing forces.