Dhulagarhi unrest: Area under curfew, residents blame police and politicians of inaction

DHULAGARHI: A week after communal violence raged through

Dhulagarhi

in

West Bengal

, the town is still in recovery mode with normal life at a standstill.

Strict curfew has been imposed, with the police arbitrarily checking vehicles and questioning residents. Few shops have reopened amidst the gutted remains of the marketplace.

Locals are accusing the police and administration of not acting promptly to contain the riots which erupted after a religious rally organised by a local club and lasted for two days.

While the town's population is divided along religious lines, both factions want order and peace restored. They've jointly blamed the authorities for not taking proper action during the crisis, in which bombings, street fights and looting occured unchecked. Several houses and shops were also set on fire.

Local shop owner Srikant Mondal's wife Pratima complained that her husband's shop was burnt down and that he was mercilessly beaten up by goons, while the police did not show up at all.

Another local resident, electrician Bula Sheikh said that though the area witnessed random bombing, no leader or MLA bothered to visit Dhulagarhi after the incident.

TMC MLA of Panchla Gulshan Mallick said, "The area does not belong to my jurisdiction, hence I did not intervene."

Some locals reported that when they went to the police station to lodge a complaint against the leader of the riotous mob, they were arrested instead on the charge of instigating violence.

Sital Sardar, TMC MLA from Sankrail said, "It was a sudden violence. Matters would have gone worse had we been there. So we decided to keep watch from a distance and offer help in all extents."

Superintendent of Police Sabyasachi Raman Mishra assured, "The situation is presently normal. 50 have been arrested following the violence. Nobody will be spared."

West Bengal PCC Adhir Ranjan Choudhury reached Dhulagarhi on Monday along with local Congress leaders, but police has not let them enter the area for security reasons.

Read this story in Bangla