Parts of West Bengal have turned into a melting pot following Ram Navami celebrations on 24-25 of this month. It has already been reported, how a Ram Navami stage erected by the BJP was attacked and set on fire in the town of Burdwan on Saturday, by alleged TMC goons. Union Minister Babul Supriyo, pinned the entire blame for the Burdwan incident on Trinamool Congress and alleged that Mamata Banerjee was deliberately “antagonising” Hindu sentiments for votes.
Now the epicentre of the violence seems to have shifted to Raniganj, a town about 100 KM from Burdwan. As per reports, the trouble began at the Hill Bustee area of the town when stones were pelted at a Ram Navami procession on Monday morning. This escalated into a clash between various groups which included bomb blasts and shots getting fired in various parts of the town.
The violence included various police vehicles getting set ablaze and senior police officers like DCP Arindam Dutta Chowdhury and ACP Ajay Chatterjee, getting seriously injured in a bomb attack. Local reports have claimed that one person was killed and 10 policemen, 30 individuals were injured in these clashes.
The situation in the town was at its worse from 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM and the DM of Burdwan (West), Shasank Shetty, even wanted the army to be brought in. Things though cooled down in the evening, resulting in the deployment getting deferred.
Union Minister Babul Supriyo who is also the MP of that area has since then pointed his finger at the ‘minority community’ who he alleged were committing arson and assaulting Hindus with sharp weapons:
(1/1) The situation in Ranigunj in my constituency Asansol where dozens of Goons from the Minority community came in matadors & cars, vandalised and burnt down shops, pulled Hindus out from their houses and assaulted/injured them brutally with choppers & swords. pic.twitter.com/XY92bh3K9S
— Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) March 26, 2018
He further alleged that the ‘minority community’ goons were given a safe haven to escape following their attack. In a video he uploaded, an individual when questioned with regards to the Mamata government alleged that it was “supporting the Muslims”. Supriyo is also seen assuaging the locals and claimed that he was going to send the recorded videos to Rajnath Singh:
But the most alarming and dangerous fact is that the WB police remained inactive and far away from the spots and as the videos will prove, residents are alleging that police did not respond or take calls and stayed out in their rooms. pic.twitter.com/womZtUXjip
— Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) March 26, 2018
He also claimed that three people were gravely injured in this attack, who were now undergoing treatment in Durgapur’s Mission Hospital.
Besides Raniganj, clashes have also been reported from the Kakinara, where too a death has been reported.
