KOLKATA: Five policemen, including DC (Port) Harikrishna Pai , were injured and two govt vehicles were damaged and a bike was set ablaze when cops tried to stop clashes in the Rabindranagar-Akra near Maheshtala on Wednesday. Police resorted to lathicharge and fired tear gas to rein in the situation.
Till the last report came in, police continued raids and rounded up four persons. Route marches were also being held.
The root of the problem, according to locals, could be traced to a "hurried construction of a tulsi mancha" at a spot, where a member of a minority community used to have a shop. The trader was away for Eid. But the other group alleged the shop was on an encroached land, which belonged to a local temple. Before the administration could mitigate, the two groups started protesting, which snowballed into violence and roadblocks. The mob then targeted police.
Around 10 am, a crowd started building near the Rabindranagar Police Station. Between 2 pm and 2.30 pm, the mob suddenly attacked police, who were heavily outnumbered. The mob pelted cops with stones till additional forces arrived and they charged back. But as the unrelenting mob kept growing in number, police resorted to lathicharge and could finally disperse the crowd from the spot around 3.30 pm. But the mob headed towards Santoshpur level crossing and moved into the Nadial Police Station area under Kolkata Police. Another clash broke out around 4.30 pm, with the mob attacking KP cops, including the DC (port) Rai.
Cops, in riot gear, formed smaller teams, each led by a senior officer. The police teams reportedly chased the protesters, lathicharged some and lobbed tear gas shells. The situation was brought to normalcy by around 6 pm. Armed battalions and RAF conducted route marches along a 3km radius between Santoshpur Rail Bridge and Rabindranagar PS. Kolkata Police commissioner Manoj Varma and ADG (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar camped at the spot during this operation. Later, Varma met DCP Pai at a nursing home in Kolkata.
"The situation is peaceful now. Raids are on. Four persons have so far been arrested. The injured cops' condition is stable," said a senior officer late at night.
Police did not issue any statement. Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh, condemning the incident, said despite being attacked, police handled the situation "firmly but with sensitivity". Ghosh, criticising Bengal opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari's comments, said, "Untoward incidents do take place. It happens everywhere. But what should our role be, to inflame it or act responsibly?"
Adhikari, who staged a protest outside Bhawani Bhawan, demanded CAPF deployment. "The Calcutta High Court's CAPF deployment order (in Murshidabad) can also be implemented here," he said, indicating he might move court.
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