A clash broke out in Murshidabad district between two groups of people over an alleged objectionable message on a digital display board at Beldanga.
Fifteen people allegedly involved in the clash were arrested.
Amid tensions in the region, prohibitory orders were issued in the area and internet services were suspended.
According to police officials, the clash occurred after the message on the display board on a gate set up near a Kartik Puja pandal came to the notice of the members of one of the groups.
Yet another Hindu festival marred by violence in Mamata Banerjee’s West Bengal.
— BJP West Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) November 17, 2024
In Murshidabad’s Beldanga, Hindu homes are attacked on Kartik Puja, while her police remain spineless spectators.
How long will Hindus suffer under her appeasement politics? This lawlessness must… pic.twitter.com/ioOSKxmb6y
No major injuries were reported in the clash.
BJP accused the Mamata Banerjee administration of inaction and claimed the miscreants "belonged to a certain group".
The trouble began on Saturday night when a set of youths gathered near the Kartik Puja pandal alleged that an objectionable message hurting their religious sentiments was displayed on the digital board at the gate.
Beldanga in West Bengal’s Murshidabad continues to simmer as Muslim rioters hold the town to ransom. Last evening, the rampaging mobs targeted Hindu deities, pelted stones on Kartik Puja pandals and brutalised West Bengal police.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 17, 2024
All because Mamata Banerjee won’t stop appeasing… pic.twitter.com/Fri0isbNU2
A clash erupted when both sides started throwing stones at each other.
Crude bombs were used and several shops, and houses were vandalised in the clash. A police vehicle also came under attack prompting the personnel to lathi-charge the mobs.
Shops did not open while the police and Rapid Action Force personnel patrolled different pockets.
Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) have been issued in Beldanga, Kazisaha and Begurban areas.
"The state administration has failed to protect people as miscreants..... have let loose a reign of anarchy in the entire area. Is this part of a deeper plan to turn West Bengal into Bangladesh?" BJP state president and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said.
Meanwhile, TMC officials said that the situation is under control and the administration is closely monitoring the developments.
