Picture for representational purpose only.

MALDA: A 6-year-old boy standing by the roadside with his father to watch a Muharram procession in Sahapur village suffered bullet injuries in his chest, sparking tension in the district.

Abdul Rajjak was rushed to a local hospital and later shifted to a private hospital at English Bazar after his condition started deteriorating. Sheikh Afsar said his son was hit by bullets as some enthusiasts in the rally fired in the air. “My son has two bullet injuries below his chest,” he said.

The father had taken the child to watch the Muharram Tajia that was passing by the area. A large crowd had gathered to watch the procession.

Chanchal SDPO Sajal Kanti Biswas said he had received a complaint of firing . “But we are yet to identify the person who used firearms. Probe is on,” he said.

The incident in Malda ’s Ratua went viral on social media on Wednesday after some bystanders recorded the procession and uploaded the video.

Display of firearms was also reported from Kaliachak, which had witnessed communal clashes in 2016. Participants in the Muharram rally there flaunted firearms only a stone’s throw from the Kaliachak police station, despite the district police’s ban on the use of firearms, swords and other weapons.

An over-enthusiastic participant whipped out a firearm and flaunted it when the procession reached near Kaliachak High School, barely 500 metres from the police station. Residents claimed they heard firing in the air.

BJP’s Uttar Malda MP Khagen Murmu seized the opportunity to take on police. “What were police doing? We all have memories of Kaliachak police station being ransacked by armed miscreants just three years ago,” he said.

Trinamool’s Malda leader Mousam Noor said she had no information of such an incident.

Superintendent of police Alok Rajoria did not comment.

