Mix of amity, fear is ‘new normal’ in Basirhat

•  Amid the communal tension in the Basirhat region, Raja, the Hindu owner of a small cycle repairing shop in the Muslim dominated area of Teen Mohini, was seen sitting with a group of Muslim friends who also happened to be his co-workers. They were seen sharing their sumptuous lunch together.

• Members of the Paikpara Friends’ Association Club, which was attacked and ransacked by an angry Muslim mob earlier this month, are apprehensive about fresh trouble brewing during the upcoming Durga Puja festivities to be held in September this year. Some members said that every year, some or the other small incident keeps happening in Basirhat, but this year, retaliation is expected from both communities in case of any such incident. Locals and the administration are, therefore, treading carefully.

•  Posters and banners calling for peace and harmony between the two communities have been put up in some areas of Basirhat town by the local administration. The posters display pictures of Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam, both renowned poets.

Lines from a famous poem by Nazrul Islam stating Hindus and Muslims are two flowers of the same branch, are also quoted in the posters.

•  The 17-year-old boy, who had allegedly posted a blasphemous Facebook post, still remains in judicial custody.

The local police station in Baduria, which was attacked by a mob of 2,000 to 3,000 people, has been repaired, but a few charred cars still stand testimony to the arson indulged in by the mob. The local police in Baduria has been arresting several people allegedly involved in the rioting.

According to local police sources, over 50 people have already been arrested and the police is conducting regular raids at night to get hold of the rioters.

•  As paramilitary forces are still present in parts of the town to keep vigil and tackle any untoward incidents, a group of CRPF personnel was seen sipping tea sitting inside a temple in Basirhat and having a good laugh on a rainy Sunday evening.

One of the CRPF personnel said that they have been posted outside religious establishments to guard them and since it was raining, they had to take shelter inside the temple.

•  Just 12 km from Basirhat, the neighbouring tourist town of Taki, which otherwise is crowded with tourists at this time of the year, wore a deserted look with hardly any people around. Hotel owners said that since the day violence was reported in Basirhat and its neighbouring areas, the arrival of tourists have stopped. He, however, said that since last week, some people have started coming and they are hoping that their business would be back to normal is the coming days.  There has not been any reports of incidents of violence in the town.