Malda violence was a clash between BSF and villagers: Mamata Banerjee

When media person asked her about the clash, where two communities got involved, in a press conference here in Kolkata, during the two-day-long Bengal Global Business Summit,  Banerjee said, "What happened there, that was misinformed. There was a struggle between local villagers and BSF. It was not a communal violence. Neither state government nor our party was involved in the matter. State police managed the situation."  

On Sunday, more than a lakh protesters gathered for a rally called by Idara-e-Shariya against the hate speech of  Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari in Uttar Pradesh, in which derogatory remarks were allegedly made against  Prophet Mohammed.

Violence broke out in the Malda district when the protesters came across a North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) bus trying to cross the rally.

The protesters, some of whom were allegedly armed, blocked traffic on the National Highway 34 that runs past Kaliachak. A Border Security Force jeep was stuck in the traffic. BSF officials in the jeep got into an angry altercation with protesters.

Afterthat demonstrators went on a rampage, setting Kaliachak Police Station and several vehicles, including the BSF jeep and few other police vehicles, on fire. One 15-year-old boy-Md Azim Alam- sustained a bullet injury in his stomach.

When a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation, led by BJP MLA Shamik Bhattacharya, trying to visit the spot to observe the situation, police prevented them entering Kaliachak and arrested the delegation team members from Malda Town area. They all were released later.

Meanwhile, the center has sought for a report on the incident from West Bengal government and union Home Minister Rajnath Singh likely to visit the area on Jan 18.

(Reporting by Deepayan Sinha)