Post-Deepavali festivities lead to protests, incidents of violence in Kolkata

Violence erupts in West Bengal post-Deepavali as people defy time limits for bursting crackers, leading to arrests and injuries.

Multiple incidents of violence were reported in West Bengal as people continued to burst crackers after Deepavali festivities ended on October 31.

In south Kolkata’s Azadgarh area, a man was beaten up by local residents after he protested against them bursting firecrackers after 10 p.m., beyond the time limit posted by the State government. The victim himself was old, and had family members who were critically ill, prompting him to confront the revellers.

A similar incident was reported in the Entally area of north Kolkata. A man was assaulted, resulting in an injury to the head, after he protested against some bursting crackers after 10 p.m. “We had told them that my wife was critically ill and asked them not to burst loud noise-emitting crackers. They got many men from outside the locality and created a nuisance. When we tried to come to the police station to complain, they attacked us,” said Sushil Kundu, the father of the victim Sayan Kundu.

Entally Thana police on Monday arrested two accused in the assault case. The victim and his family had also complained that the police had not been keen on lodging a case and only filed their complaint after pressure mounted. The accused Raju Ray and Sujoy Ray were arrested from a nearby locality.

A few police personnel were assaulted in the Lake Town area in Kolkata suburbs after they tried to intervene and stop the bursting of firecrackers. The accused absconded soon after but were later apprehended and arrested.

The three persons arrested in the case were produced in court on Monday. Police were still searching for others involved in the attack.

During the idol immersion at one of the water bodies in Lake Town after Deepavali and Kali Puja festivities, on Sunday, a few miscreants started bursting illegal crackers. Lake Town Police Station intervened after receiving multiple complaints. However, after a heated argument, the miscreants attacked the police and injured several officers.