Kolkata:
West Bengal had tension in at least two pockets on Friday afternoon after protests by members of a community against the WAQF Amendment Act.
After clashes between protesters and security personnel, there was tension in Nimati and Sati in the minority-dedicated Murshidabad district on Friday. At Nimatita railway station, the protesters blocked the railway tracks for hours and brutalized railway properties.
Railway police force personnel later had to resort to Lathicarj to bring the situation under control. The protesters also threw stones at security personnel, some of whom were injured.
Later, the Border Security Force personnel were deployed in the area and, according to the latest available information, the situation is largely under control.
On Friday, there were clashes between protesters and state police personnel in Sajur Crossing area under Suti Police Station in Murshidabad district, as the protesters allegedly threw stones and raw bombs towards police personnel.
Many police personnel and some pedestrians were also injured. The police then soaked the crowd.
Additional police forces were deployed in the area to keep the situation under control. However, there was tension in the area by the time of filing this report.
A similar tension broke in the Amtala area of South 24 Parganas district as people protesting against the Waqf Act attacked local police personnel there. The police retaliated, and traffic on National Highway 117 was affected for a long time.
The situation was similar in Champdani in Hooghly district of West Bengal.
The Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Officer claimed that there was a large -scale violence, anarchy and unrighteousness in the name of protests by a certain group of state fundamentalists.
“These people, who have clearly stated that they are against the Constitution of India and will oppose the law of land, have taken to the streets. Public and private properties are being desired. Public safety has been compromised as ordinary people are at mercy of these cruel crowd of radicals,” he said.
The office of Governor CV Anand Bose contacted the office of Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and gave a message to the Governor that the police should adopt early and strict measures to keep the situation under control.
Later, the Governor released a video message claiming that he was receiving a harassment report about some people taking laws and orders in some parts of Bengal. He also stated that, on receiving information about some problems in some parts of West Bengal, he held a confidential discussion with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
“Even today, when some disturbances are broken, the government officials were discussed. The Chief Secretary has assured that the government is taking very strict action against the miscreants and will not allow the disturbances to be pursued. The state is prepared. The state is prepared. All action will be taken against the miscreants. No one will be allowed to take laws in their hands.”
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
