Why did the riots take place?

Malda district of West Bengal saw a violent reaction from Muslim groups to the hate speech by Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari.

The minority group was protesting against Tiwari saying his speech had derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed. Kamlesh Tiwari had called Prophet Muhammad the first homosexual in the world.

Tiwari's statement came a day after UP Cabinet minister Azam Khan called RSS members homosexuals.

What exactly happened?

The state that will witness the legislative assembly elections this year, saw violence breaking out in the Malda district when the protesters came across a North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) bus trying to cross the rally.

They got into an argument with the driver of the bus and the next moment passengers had to get off the bus because the protesters set it on fire.

The protesters held tall green flags and marched on the National Highway (NH)-34 on Sunday.

Nearly two dozens police vehicles, including one belonging to India's border-guarding agency Border Security Force (BSF), was set on fire and Malda's Kaliachak police station was ransacked by a violent crowd in the Muslim-dominated Sujapur area in the district.

All the records that were stored in files and computers were destroyed.

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 the police reached the spot to take control of the situation, a clash broke out injuring several cops on duty.



Due to the ruckus, the shops were shut down and Muslim protesters also looted some nearby houses. To tackle the situation, Rapid Action Force (RAF) was called.





The other side

Another angle to the story has evolved according to which the entire incident was pre-planned and was not just a religious gathering to protest against the derogatory remark against Prophet Mohammed.

Apparently, a strong anti-Hindu sentiment in the locality was propagated by all three political parties- the ruling Trinamool Congress, Congress and CPI(M)-turned into massive violence on January 3 in which the local Muslims turned hostile towards the state administration.

Detainment

The district police arrested 10 people in connection with the violence and increased police arrangements to take care of the law and order. All the 10 accused have been sent to six-day police custody by a district court.

Current mood

Even after several hours of inactivity, most residents still choose to stay indoors and shops remain closed. The situation continued to be tense as Section 144 is still imposed in the area since Sunday night.



