A day after Islamists orchestrated a targeted attack on the Hindu community in the Mominpore locality of Kolkata, the victims have now come forward to narrate their ordeal.
“We are living under fear from yesterday night. They have created a state of panic by hurling bombs, forcing the youth to flee. Our houses were burnt,” a Hindu woman informed.
She said that all residents in the area had to abandon their houses and shift to the streets. “The police came only after 4 hours,” she informed. The woman narrated that the Islamists couldn’t violate them as they had run for safety immediately after the bombing began.
The Hindu residents lamented the indifference meted out to them by the local administration. Although the Kolkata Mayor, and West Bengal Chief Minister lived in close proximity to the locality, none came to the rescue of the local Hindu community. “The thana is just 15 minutes away,” informed a man in the background.
The Mominpore violence has wrought havoc on the lives of the Hindu community, who are now at the mercy of the police and the Muslim majority. “The house is completely burnt over there,” a man could be heard saying in the background.
The victims complained that their houses were looted by the Islamists. “I suffered the maximum damage,” a woman draped in a yellow saree lamented. From the visuals, it could be seen that her bed was completely charred in the arson attack.
“Dada, they have taken away all my belongings. Nothing is left,” she emphasised. “The wall, to which the TV is affixed, is damaged in the bombing. Look at the condition of the fan,” the woman highlighted. The video ended with a cautionary note from one of the residents, who said, “We need safety.”
A Hindu woman, dressed in a sareee, pointed out, “Bombs were hurled at us through the windows. The explosives were dipped in oil and thrown at our building. Our house was set on fire”. In the video, the walls of the woman’s house could be seen smeared with charcoal.
“The window was broken and glass was scattered all over the bed. The pelted bricks were lying all over the place. We had to clean the mess in the morning. We were afraid that the roof might fall. All of our belongings were on the bed,” another Hindu victim narrated.
Mominpore anti-Hindu riots: Here is what we know so far
OpIndia had reported how Islamists vandalised bikes and shops belonging to Hindus at Maila Depot in Mominpore on Sunday (October 9) evening.
According to West Bengal BJP Chief Sukanta Majumdar, the Hindu community was forced to flee after their houses came under attack in Mayurbhanj in the Kolkata port area.
BJP leader Pritam Sur also shared scary visuals where miscreants were seen unleashing mayhem on the streets. He tweeted, “Bombs and bricks are being hurled at us. Even the police are forced to flee. The situation is so grim that the face of democracy is blackened on the occasion of Lakshmi Puja.”
বোমা ইট মারা হচ্ছে তাই জন্য পুলিশকেও পালাতে হচ্ছে পরিস্থিতি এতটাই খারাপ যে গণতন্ত্রের মুখে কালি মাখিয়ে দিয়েছে লক্ষ্মী পূজার দিন। pic.twitter.com/M7Xnu14pak
— PRITAM SUR (@pritamsur1) October 9, 2022
Under the false allegation that an Islamic flag was desecrated, the accused also ambushed the Ekbalpur police station and forced the cops to flee.
OpIndia had also learnt that the Hindus were targeted by Islamists for refusing to dismantle the Durga Puja pandals, ahead of the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad.
A Kolkata-based journalist, who is privy to the incident, the Durga Puja conducted by the Harijan Durgosave Committee (comprising of Hindu Dalits) was the primary target of the Islamists.
On Sharad Purnima, when Bengali Hindus celebrate Kojagari Lakshmi Puja, Mominpura, a suburb of Kolkata, is witnessing communal violence. Kolkata police abandoned the Ekbalpore police station, perhaps on the orders of Home Minister Mamata Banerjee, while Islamists were on rampage. pic.twitter.com/hdNCd5wpLg
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) October 9, 2022
According to Twitter user Syed Ishtiyaque Alam, Mominpore anti-Hindu violence was the handiwork of Ghulam Asraf (Phoenix group owner), Rehan Khan (son-in-law of a TMC councillor), and Shahbaz Alam (a close aide of TMC leader Firhad Hakim).
Suvendu Adhikari wrote to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and sought urgent deployment of central forces in the region to protect the Hindu community that came under attack from the Islamists.
