KOLKATA – Districts of India’s West Bengal remained under complete lockdown on Wednesday as the state government imposed a curfew after communal violence broke out in the area on Sunday evening after a Facebook post showing objectionable images linked to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Kaaba went viral, following which a mob vandalised shops and homes, and set fire to vehicles, triggering retaliatory attacks, Indian Express reported.
A man has also died in a hospital in the West Bengal capital. Kartik Ghosh, 45, was brought to Kolkata from a government hospital in Basirhat, where he was admitted in a critical condition.
The main accused, who allegedly posted objectionable material on Facebook on Sunday, was arrested on Monday morning and remanded to police custody for four days.
According to Indian Express, police used loudspeakers to request people to maintain calm through the day, even as Internet services were withdrawn and rail links on the Barasat-Hasnabad and Barasat-Bongaon sections of Eastern Railways were disrupted by protesters. At least five local trains were detained at different stations. A motorbike was also set on fire in Basirhat.
According to NDTV, tThe BJP has accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of protecting anti-social elements and said the situation is a fallout of her appeasement of the Muslim community which supports her party.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has blamed the BJP and fringe groups for the violence.
