Barely two days after the Shibpur communal riots in Howrah district on the Ramnavami day fresh violence broke out at Rishra barely 25 kms away from Shibpur.
Clashes broke out between two communities when a Ramnavami procession led by BJP’s national vice president Dilip Ghosh was attacked at Rishra also in Howrah district.
Several vehicles were torched, bombs hurled and bricks pelted from both sides leaving several persons from both sides injured police said adding rapid action force was promptly deployed in the area.
Ghosh who was quickly whisked away by the central forces said, “Bombs were lobbed in front of my car and the police remained a spectator... Even now I can hear bombs exploding everywhere.”
He said that women and children taking part in the “sobha yatra” (procession) were targeted by a mob that came from nowhere and attacked from all sides.
“Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is just sitting idle and is allowing this to happen... Had she taken action in Shibpur today’s incident would not have happened,” Ghosh said adding despite police permission the administration did not care to make adequate arrangements.
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Shantanu Sen reacted to Ghosh’s allegations saying, “BJP which is losing toehold in Bengal is trying to gain back relevance igniting communal riots ... But they will never succeed... The question is where was the need to take out a sobha yatra two days after Ramnavami and why they chose a particular route for this purpose.”
