HOWRAH: Members of a club in Howrah set fire to a BEd college and its women's hostel on Wednesday, and allegedly laughed as the panic-stricken boarders screamed for their lives. The violence sent shivers across Bengal and prompted chief minister Mamata Banerjee to order tough action against the attackers, "irrespective of political affiliation".

The girls escaped alive only because the firemen arrived in time. Police responded two hours later and had a hard time tackling the mob. Officers had to draw their sidearms to force the attackers to disperse. Parts of the college and hostel were badly damaged in the blaze and several vehicles were gutted.

The club - Yuvak Sangha of Nischinda - recently received a handout of Rs 2 lakh from the state government. Club members are locked in a dispute with Bishnupada Das, a heavyweight CPM leader, who set up Surendralal Das Teachers' Training College at Anandanagar in his father's memory in 2005. The tussle is over a 10-cottah plot in the college compound. Das says it belongs to a relative. The club doesn't dispute this but insists on being given access to it.

"Club members Sanjay Barui and Partha Banik demanded Rs 1 lakh from me before Durga Puja last year. When I refused to pay, they threatened to rape the women inmates of the hostel and burn them alive. On Monday, my vehicle was attacked. I lodged a complaint at Nischinda police station. Club members came to know of this and attacked today," Das said.

Around 9.15 am on Wednesday, a crowd of club members and locals blocked the road in front of the college and started pelting stones at the buildings. Teachers, staff and day scholars fled the campus but the hostel inmates were trapped. An hour later, the mob burst into the campus, broke the lock of the main building and started ransacking classrooms, the main hall, library and laboratories. Within minutes, they set fire to the fittings and furnishings. The mob then turned its attention to Das' house.

Das, his wife Prof Anuradha Das and mother Kuntala Das watched in horror from the upper floor as the mob set the house on fire at 11am. "My mother is ill and almost suffered a stroke on seeing the flames. The mob screamed that they would burn us alive. They ran off to assault labourers working nearby and then stormed into the women's hostel. After manhandling the girls, they set the building on fire. The trapped boarders screamed for help but the attackers simply watched the fun. I recalled how the club office-bearers had threatened to burn the women in the hostel alive if I didn't pay up," Das told TOI.

For nearly an hour, 40-odd girls were trapped in the burning building as both the front and rear exits were set on fire. The fire brigade arrived around noon. As soon as the flames were doused, panic-stricken boarders rushed out with whatever they could grab and made for the station. "They won't let us live here. They wanted to burn us alive," a shaken girl said as she hurried off. Another said: "We could hear them scream 'burn the girls alive. Burn them.'" Police and RAF arrived well after the damage was done. When asked why it took police two hours to react, a senior officer said the police commissioner would know. Calls to the commissioner weren't answered.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who was in Salboni, West Midnapore, when the violence occurred, ordered quick action. The club members are unfazed. Barui claimed that it was a "spontaneous reaction" by local residents after Das "incited members of two other clubs to attack Yuvak Sangha members". "There is a lot of sentiment involved with the 10-cottah plot. Children play there and Durga Puja celebrations are held there. Now, college authorities are trying to use it for other purposes," he argued.

Barui was heard boasting that local MLA and irrigation minister Rajib Banerjee supports the club. Banners with photographs of Mamata and the minster hang outside the clubhouse. Rajib Banerjee insisted he had no ties to the club. "I am the local MLA and know of the club. I also helped them get Rs 2 lakh from the state government to develop the 2 cottahs land they own. It's not true that the club members are Trinamool workers. I condemn the incident and asked police to arrest those involved. I convened a meeting between club office-bearers and college authorities before the Pujas. The college authorities weren't keen on allowing Durga Puja on the plot and I requested them to reconsider. I also told club members to stay on the right side of the law," Banerjee said.



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