Howrah row turns communal
HOWRAH: A petty clash between traders and local rowdies at night spiralled into a communal flare-up at Howrah's Panchla market on Monday morning. More than 40 shops and a few houses were gutted as a mob went around setting them on fire.
District magistrate Khalil Ahmed, who reached the spot to defuse tension, was injured. So were 25 policemen. With the situation spinning out of control, the Rapid Action Force (RAF) stepped in and lathicharged the troublemakers away. Section 144 has been clamped in the area.
The administration pointed to the presence of a large number of outsiders, mostly anti-socials, in the mob. "Panchla has always been a sensitive area. But this time, some outsiders made it worse. We have spotted them. They are mostly anti-socials brought in to add fuel to the fire," the district magistrate said.
IG (law and order) Raj Kanojia said: "There seems to be some conspiracy in the way things flared up. It was a small problem and there was no reason why it should have taken this turn. We believe a small group was responsible for the trouble."
On Sunday night, Nasiruddin Mullick and some local youths went to Swarnadeep, a jewellery shop, and demanded money against a gold chain offered as mortgage. Shopowner Ashish Parui refused, saying the chain was fake. An altercation followed and Parui roughed up Nasiruddin. The other shopkeepers then ganged up to drive away the locals.
Police rounded up Parui on Sunday night to defuse tension, but that didn't help. The next morning, the locals returned in huge numbers. They beat up the traders, ransacked shops, looted materials and torched shops. Parui's shop was the first to be set on fire. When the traders started pelting stones, the mob retaliated by hurling bombs. "I was on my way to office. I got stuck because the miscreants were throwing bombs. I fled from the spot," said Swapan Bodak, who witnessed the violence.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kolkata/Howrah_row_turns_communal/articleshow/2853468.cms
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