A protest against the recent demolition drive in Tiljala, and the new BJP government’s ban on offering namaz on the roads, turned violent in Kolkata’s Park Circus area on Sunday, leaving three police personnel injured and several vehicles damaged. At least 20 people have been arrested, said police.
The protest took place at Seven-Point Crossing in the Muslim-dominated Park Circus area amid simmering tension in the city since Friday, when a group of people clashed with police over the government’s ban on offering prayers on roads.
The protesters claimed that since the BJP came to power in the state, there has been a “well-planned attempt to undermine the rights of minorities”. They said that recent administrative strictures curbing the use of loudspeakers were aimed at the azan and namaz.
Hours before the protest, the administration had bulldozed shops and stalls near Howrah and Sealdah railway stations late Saturday night.
Former chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee took to X to condemn the demolition drives, saying the poor were paying the price of “political arrogance”.
“From homes to hawker stalls, the poor are paying the price of political arrogance. Bengal does not believe in bulldozer politics. The land of Tagore and Netaji cannot be ruled through fear, force, and demolition drives against ordinary citizens,” she wrote.
The TMC chief said the developments reflected an assault on the dignity and livelihood of vulnerable sections of society. “What we are witnessing today is an attack on the dignity of the people of Bengal… who have built their lives brick by brick”.
“The massive eviction drive around Howrah station, the unrest and anger erupting on the streets of Tiljala and Park Circus, and the growing desperation among those suddenly stripped of shelter and livelihood expose a government more obsessed with optics than humanity,” she said, adding, “a government that demolishes first and listens later has forgotten the very spirit of Bengal. Real progress is measured by how a state treats its weakest citizens, not by how quickly it can erase them. Bulldozers cannot become the language of governance in a state built on culture, compassion, and resistance to oppression.”
On Sunday, a group of people gathered at Seven-Point Crossing to protest against the demolition drives in the city. As traffic came to a standstill because of the protest in the Park Circus area. A large contingent of police and CRPF personnel reached the spot and tried to disperse the crowd. A violent scuffle then broke out, followed by stone-pelting. A CRPF bus stationed there was vandalised by stone pelting. The police started to lathicharge to disperse the crowd.
“Some people tried to block the road. It was an illegal gathering. The police were trying to disperse them, and there was pelting of stones. Three of our colleagues were injured,” Additional Commissioner (Kolkata Police) Ashesh Biswas said, adding, “We have already arrested a few people.”
“There was an attack on the police. We will see who is behind it and arrest everyone. Strict legal action will be taken,” he added.
Heavy deployment of Kolkata Police and central forces was made in the area after the clashes. Route marches and intensified patrolling were undertaken in adjoining localities to prevent further escalation and restore normalcy.
Sunday’s incident comes close on the heels of violent protests on Friday in Asansol and Kolkata’s Rajabazar area.
On Friday night, a mob pelted stones and vandalised a police post in Asansol over the volume of loudspeakers at a mosque. At least 15 people were arrested.
Police sources claimed their team urged the locals and mosque authorities to reduce the loudspeaker’s volume in Asansol’s Jahangir Mohalla, following a complaint. This angered the locals, who protested outside the police outpost at around 9 pm.
Tension also erupted in Kolkata’s Rajabazar area on Friday evening, when Muslims tried to offer namaz on the road. The situation spiralled out of control after huge police forces arrived and asked people to vacate the road.
Muslims have long held Friday prayers on the streets in the area. The protesters argued that this was a tradition they had upheld for years, whereas the administration maintained that keeping public thoroughfares clear is mandatory for maintaining law and order.
According to BJP sources, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari gave clear instructions in his first Cabinet meeting that Muslim prayers should be offered only inside mosques and that no such activity would be tolerated on public roads, including Kolkata’s historic Red Road.
With PTI inputs