A video went viral on social media on Tuesday which showed members of a particular community attack cops in Howrah near Kolkata in West Bengal.
Reportedly, the crowd which had gathered at a marketplace in Tikiapara began pelting officials who were patrolling the area with stones when the police tried to disperse them. The incident occurred in Wards number 19 and 20 at Belirius Road in Howrah.
Bricks were hurled at police pickets and it’s believed that two police personnel have been injured. The markets had to be shut down as well because people were violating lockdown.
According to sources, the police had questioned a lady for walking on the street, which was a breach of the lockdown. The lady allegedly got into an argument with the police after which locals in the area attacked the security personnel patrolling the area. What followed was angry locals getting into an altercation with the Police to support the lady.
Videos of the incident showed police officials being chased down the street by an angry mob as they hurl bricks and shout abuses.
The area where the incident occurred is a minority dominated area. Incidentally, the minority community is observing Ramazan at this time.
Reportedly heavy Police force and RAF has been deployed in the area.
BJP leaders in West Bengal also reacted to the incident, blaming Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for "appeasement politics".
"Thanks to Mamata Banerjee’ appeasement politics, her loyal voters are now attacking policemen, even while Bengal faces a tough fight against #Covid19 pandemic," the party tweeted.
Howrah as a district has the second-most cases in the state after Kolkata. The state, as of Tuesday evening, has 522 active cases.
With 1,543 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, India's tally rose to 29,435 so far, including 934 deaths, the Union Health Ministry data said on Tuesday. A total of 62 people have died of the disease in the last 24 hours, the biggest single-day rise, taking the total deaths to 934.
