An uneasy calm prevailed in West Bengal's northern Malda district that flared up on Sunday following a massive protest rally by Muslim groups against the hate speech of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari.

Over two dozens police vehicles, including one belonging to India's border-guarding agency Border Security Force (BSF), were torched. Malda's Kaliachak police station was ransacked as an irate crowd went on a violent rampage at Muslim-dominated Sujapur area in the district. "The situation is now under control. Regular police arrangements are there in that area to take care of the law and order part," Malda district police superintendent Prasun Banerjee told Mail Today, refusing to divulge anything further on the situation and about the organisation which actually took out the protest rally.

Asked about the number of arrests, the police official said that raids are on. "No one has been arrested so far," he added. Armed with tall green flags, thousands of sloganeering protesters took out the march on National Highway (NH)-34 on Sunday protesting self-proclaimed Hindu Kamlesh Tiwari's recent hate speech on Prophet Muhammad, though nobody knew what exactly did the Hindu fundamentalist leader said.

The violence broke out when the protesters came across a North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) bus that was trying to cross the rally. They got into an argument with the driver of the bus and soon the situation went out of control. The passengers got off the bus as the protesters had set it on fire. Then the mob attacked the nearby Kaliachak police station, drove out all policemen and ransacked the police stations, including its barracks. They destroyed all the records that were stored on piled up files and computers.

The violent mob also attacked the BDO office at Kaliachak-I, they went to Khaltipur railway station and squatted on the railway tracks in protest. When police reached, a clash broke out injuring several cops on duty. As tension gripped the area, shops were shut down. The Muslim protesters also looted some nearby houses. Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel were called in to take control of the situation. Police sources said peace and normalcy were restored in the trouble area late last night. "The situation is under control now," Malda district magistrate Sharad Devidi told Mail Today.

Also read: Karnataka Muslims condemn Hindu Mahasabha leader's comment

