Kolkata: The news of the gruesome murder of Bangladeshi MP Anwarul Azim Anar has become a talking point in the “mini Bangladesh” of New Market-Sudder Street-Free School Street area which is frequented by thousands of Bangladeshis for tourism and healthcare.
The details that have emerged have terrified both the tourists and establishment owners in the area who depend heavily on the visitors from the neighbouring countries for their livelihood.
The number of tourists arriving in Kolkata has decreased in the past few weeks due to the general elections.
“The news and the accompanying details are very disturbing. We have been coming to Kolkata for the past 12 years but never has anything like this happened before,” said Kamal Raza Neel, who has been visiting Kolkata for more than a decade for treatment and tourism at a city hospital.
The incident is on WhatsApp chats of Bangladeshi nationals. “My relatives have been forwarding all the details and updates about the incident to me. The entire episode is very unsettling,” said another resident of Bangladesh who arrived earlier this week.
“Mini Bangladesh” has several hundred hotels which cater to visitors from Bangladesh. In several cases visitors have been staying at the same hotels during all their visits.
“Many guests have been staying with us for years as they have developed a comfort factor. But we have been very cautious about all the official paperwork which is required by our local agencies. We are extra cautious in cases of new guests. The entire hotel is under CCTV surveillance and we keep a track if any stranger steps inside the hotel,” said Sweety Singh, owner of Central Kolkata Guest House on Mirza Ghalib Street.