Violence roils Bengal's Maheshtala after 'temple vandalism', BJP flags 'appeasement politics’

The violence occurred near the Rabindranagar Police Station in the Budge Budge area of South 24 Parganas.

Opposition BJP leaders said the clashes broke out after a person was stopped from setting up a shop near a local Hindu temple.

This episode allegedly led to the vandalisation of the Shiva temple, triggering outrage among residents.

The situation almost went out of control after noon. Several bikes were set on fire, and police vehicles were vandalized.

A femalecop was injured in the violence after being hit by a brick.

The entire area looked like a battlefield, which left the police with no choice but to resort to lathicharge and tear gas shelling to bring the situation under control.

The Rapid Action Force (RAF) team was also deployed to restore peace in the area.

Union Minister and West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar blamed the state government for the incident and slammed its “Muslim appeasement" politics.

He is also set to visit the violence-hit area for an inspection on Thursday afternoon.

In a post on X, Majumdar accused the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government of ignoring repeated attacks on Bengali Hindus in Muslim-majority areas of the state.

Reacting to the incident, Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari said, "This is what happens when you feed a rabid dog, it bites you back one day. These Jidasists know that they have succeeded in putting shackles on the Mamata Banerjee Govt, the Govt can't act against them, as they are the 'impactful' Vote Bank."

He also urged Governor CV Ananda Bose to assess the situation, stating that this "happened all because of the deliberate 'negligence' and involvement of IC Rabindranagar PS; Mukul Mia."

"He is a close associate of the TMC Jihadis and attends and helps organize all their events and even attends those events with the TMC badge pinned on his uniform. He must be taken into custody and questioned properly," Adhikari said.

Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh, meanwhile, told the media that the administration is looking into the incident and refrained from commenting any further.

"The police and administration are looking into the matter. I will not make any political comments on this matter."