On Tuesday, BJP West Bengal quickly seized upon an incident of violence in Howrah to accuse the West Bengal CM of ‘minority appeasement’.
They wrote on Twitter: “West Bengal Police personnel attacked by stone-pelting mob for trying to enforce lockdown in Tikiapara, Howrah. Thanks to Mamata Banerjee’ appeasement politics, her loyal voters are now attacking policemen, even while Bengal faces a tough fight against #Covid19 pandemic.”
Several police were injured in Howrah’s Tikiapara area when locals who breached the lockdown protocol hurled bricks at Police pickets and vehicles on Tuesday afternoon. The incident occurred in Ward No.19 and 20 known as Belirius road in Tikapara. The lockdown is underway across India in wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, with 522 cases reported in West Bengal on Tuesday. Incidentally, Howrah is one of the four districts which is in the red zone with 75% of the COVID-19 cases reported from Kolkata, Howrah/Hoogly and North 24 Parganas.
According to sources, the police questioned a lady for walking on the street which was a breach of the lockdown. Markets also had to be shut in the area as people were breaching the lockdown in recent days. The lady allegedly got into an argument with the Police after which locals in the area attacked the Police and other security personnel patrolling the area.
What followed was angry locals getting into an altercation with the Police to support the lady, after which they hurled bricks at the Police vehicles and Police pickets. In the videos, Police are seen running while an angry mob is hurling bricks at them and shouting out abuses.
Policemen are said to be injured in the incident. BJP leaders reacted to locals attacking Police patrolling the area to ensure that the lockdown is in place. This is also the time when the minority community is observing Ramazan. The area where the incident occurred is a minority dominated area.
