As many as 125 people have been arrested by the police in connection with the horrifying communal clashes in Hooghly’s Telinipara region in West Bengal that took place after videos of Hindu houses being set on fire had gone viral on social media. The police have also withdrawn prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC imposed in the clash-hit areas.
According to Subrata Gangopadhyay, DCP Headquarters, Chandannagar, Hooghly, about 125 have been arrested in the case and a huge cache of bombs was recovered. He also added that a woman has been arrested for posting an objectionable video on social media.
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1261279577051025408?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwBesides, Internet Services which were snapped in the wake of the communal flare-up in Hooghly, have also been partially restored, said a senior police official.
“There has been no report of violence in the district since Thursday. We have revoked (prohibitory orders under) section 144 of the CrPc as the situation has improved. Internet services have been partially restored,” Chandannagar Police Commissioner Humayun Kabir told PTI.
While shops and marketplaces were allowed to resume their business, Kabir asserted that police will continue to closely monitor Telinipara, the epicentre of the clashes.
“It was earlier decided that Internet services will remain suspended till May 17th. However, after evaluating the current situation, we have come to the conclusion of lifting the restrictions on the Internet in some areas. We will soon take a call on the phase-wise restoration of Internet services in other parts of the district,” the official said.
Communal clashes in Hooghly
Clashes erupted in Telinipara in Hooghly district of West Bengal after Muslims in the locality allegedly refused to follow lockdown orders. As reported by Swarajya, a number of Muslims who had returned from Ajmer had tested positive for coronavirus. However, they were not following the lockdown orders. The Hindus of the area got alarmed by this and put up barricades to stop outsiders from entering the area. However, as reported by Swarajya, BJP MP Locket Chatterjee said that the Muslims broke the barricades and insisted on entering the Hindu-majority area. After Hindus objected, the Muslims attacked the Hindus, Chatterjee reportedly said.
Chandannagar Police Commissioner Humayun Kabir, however, had claimed that the communal clashes were triggered after Muslims were allegedly taunted by ‘corona’ jibes. He claimed that following the verbal spat, the Hindus barricaded the public toilets used by the Muslims which led to violence. Bombs were tossed and shops plundered in Telinipara and its adjoining Chandannagar and Sreerampore areas, following which the law enforcement officials baton-charged the miscreants and brought the situation under control.