Policemen were attacked in Howrah, West Bengal on Tuesday after they entered the area to enforce the lockdown in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. It is one of the worst affected areas of West Bengal, second only to Kolkata. In a video shared by a journalist associated with Times of India, security personnel can be seen running for cover after the mob came after them. A voice can be heard saying in the video, “These people are attacking the police station.” Loud noises can also be heard in the video.
Breaking: Police attacked by shutdown violators in Howrah.
— Piyali Chakraborty (@Plchakraborty) April 28, 2020
A huge crowd gathered at Howrah’s Tikiyapara area on Tuesday afternoon,when police tried to confront them,the violators pelted stones and bottles at the police.They vandalised the police car too. pic.twitter.com/juvFX0yXm9
In a different video shared by an associate editor at India Today, the mob can be seen dragging a policeman, apparently, to safety. A voice in the video [explicit language, viewer discretion advised] says that the face of the policeman has been injured. Another voice agrees. The voices appeared angry with the mob and wanted the Police to crack down on the mob.
Cops come under attack in #Howrah after police went to enforce lockdown in a #Covid19 containment zone
— Indrojit | ইন্দ্রজিৎ (@iindrojit) April 28, 2020
After Kolkata, Howrah is the worst affected in Bengal pic.twitter.com/ToLPRmvMJ5
As per reports, two to three policemen were injured in the mob attack. The incident occurred at the Belilious Road in Howrah when the Police asked people defying the lockdown to go back to their homes. The mob also attacked the Tikiapara Police Station and pelted stones at the policemen. Bottles were also thrown at the Police. A heavy police force and RAF have been deployed in the area.
WB: A crowd, which had gathered at a market place in Tikiapara of Howrah today – defying the lockdown, attacked Police personnel & pelted stones at them when they asked the crowd to return to their homes. 2 police personnel injured. Heavy Police force & RAF deployed in the area. pic.twitter.com/Bnu0Cj1K5o
— ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2020
Coronavirus Crisis Critical in West Bengal
The health-care experts believe that the situation in Bengal is very grave as the Mamata Banerjee-led government has not been giving real data to assess the actual seriousness of the pandemic. From threats to doctors for whistleblowing against the state government against lack of facilities to allegations of state government illegally disposing of dead bodies, there have been serious allegations against the Mamata Banerjee government in Bengal.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister herself is engaging in rants against the Central Government and a lack of cooperation on her part with authorities at the centre has been reported on numerous occasions. She is busy making false claims about the central government and accuse them of undue political interference in the affairs of her state. Mamata Banerjee has also asked Coronavirus positive patients to quarantine themselves at home, indicating that the spread of the virus is much greater than admitted by the state government.
