Protests erupted in the Kakdwip area of South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal on Wednesday after an idol of Goddess Kali was found damaged.

As residents refused to immerse the idol and blocked the national highway, police said they used “mild force” to disperse the protesters.

Late in the day, police said the idol was immersed.

“Efforts are being made from certain quarters to spread misinformation about an incident in Kakdwip. Facts are: an idol of Goddess Kali in a village temple under Suryanagar gram panchayat was found to be damaged this morning. Efforts are on to identify the person/persons behind the mischief. Stern action will be taken against those responsible for the incident,” the police posted on X.

According to the police, the protesters blocked the national highway for hours, “causing serious inconvenience to people, and ambulances carrying patients were stuck”. “When the agitators did not relent and started pelting stones at the police, minimum force was resorted to by the police to disperse the mob. The immersion of the idol was facilitated thereafter,” the police added.

The BJP, meanwhile, accused the TMC government of shielding the culprits. “I have repeatedly said that there is a conspiracy to turn West Bengal into West Bangladesh. If Hindus do not wake up now, all kinds of dangers await in the coming days… Hindus in West Bengal are suffering the consequences of (Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee’s appeasement politics. Under Mamata’s misrule, terrorists from a particular community have not been punished for vandalizing idols of Hindu gods and goddesses,” alleged Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari in a post on X.