2017 Baduria riots explained

2017 Baduria riots
Date:2 July 2017
Place:West Bengal, India
Coordinates:22.66°N 88.89°W
Causes:Facebook post by an 11 Class student
Methods:Protesting, rioting, rock throwing, looting, arson, mobbing
Injuries:23[1]
Fatalities:1[2] [3]
Arrests:71[4]
Map Type:India West Bengal
Map Label:Basirhat subdivision

Baduria riot refers to incidents of communal violence between Hindus and Muslims in the Baduria town in Basirhat subdivision of the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal state of India.

Background

Tensions started rising after a social media post on The Holy Prophet Muhammad عليه الصلاة والسلام and Kaaba by a 17-year-old student on 2 July 2017. The images were seen as objectionable and went viral in Baduria. He was later arrested.[5] It is claimed that this violence was an outcome of local outrage of the Muslim groups, but according to some news sources and local media, villagers of Baduria, Basirhat and of its neighborhood claimed the rioters were outsiders.[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Riots

Following the post made on 2 July by the school boy, a mob of an estimated 5,000 people blockaded the Baduria police station, demanding that the accused be brought before the crowd. The post also resulted in an arson attack on the accused's house. He was arrested on the evening of 3 July 2017.[12] [13] [14]

The Baduria police station was attacked and set ablaze along with several police vehicles on the night of 3 July.[15] [16] A violent mob put up road blockades at several places and attacked members of other community, besides destroying many shops.[17] [18]

Muslim mobs set upon shops and houses belonging to Hindus in Baduria, Swarupnagar and Taki.[19] Rath Yatras at several places were attacked.[12] Violent clashes were triggered between the two communities of Basirhat.[20] The Union government deployed four Border Security Force (BSF) companies containing a total of 400 personnel to check the violence in the region. Section 144 was imposed while the internet services were suspended.[21] In retaliatory attacks on 6 July, Hindu mobs attacked a dargah and vandalised shops and houses in addition to clashing with the police. The office of a local TMC leader also comes under attack. On July 7, several Hindu temples were attacked by a Muslim mob of about 70-90 people. They also allegedly attacked and harassed Hindu families.[22]

About 25 people including 20 policemen were reported to have been injured in the violence.[23] The house and party office of a local TMC MLA Dipendu Biswas was also set on fire by the rioters.[24] A 65 year old died after being stabbed by the rioter mobs in the clashes while trying to return home.[25] [26]

Fake news and provocative statements

Vijeta Malik who is reported to be the Haryana State Executive Member of BJP allegedly posted a well-known scene of a Bhojpuri movie Aurat Khilona Nahi and cited it as an incident in Baduaria clashes where Hindu women were severely abused and the crowd just watched.[27] [28] [29] This fake news went viral. Despite several appeals from Kolkata and West Bengal Police,[30] [31] sharing of fake news continued and tensions were exacerbated.

Involvement of BJP leaders

One Kolkata-based citizen Bhabotosh Chatterjee was arrested for sharing fake news and spreading communal hatred over the internet,[32] and another three were held for spreading fake news via multiple social media profiles.[33] In July, two FIRs were lodged against a Delhi-based BJP leader Nupur Sharma for sharing fake news[34] [35] while the BJP IT cell secretary Tarun Sengupta was arrested in Asansol for posting ‘fake’ video on social media.[36] [37] BJP MLA T. Raja Singh Lodh made a statement asking Hindus to respond "as they did in Gujarat, to prevent Bengal from becoming Bangladesh, or face being banished as they were from Kashmir".[38] [39] [40] The West Bengal Government ordered a judiciary inquiry on the fake news propaganda and the causes of the Baduria incident.[41] [42] While responding to a PIL filed in the Calcutta High Court, the State stated that around 71 people had been arrested and a total of 86 cases had been registered with the police in this matter.[43]

Notes and References

  1. News: Fresh Violence In West Bengal's Basirhat After Police Lathicharge, Several Injured: 10 Updates. NDTV.com.
  2. News: Bengal violence over FB post: Man dies of stab wounds, clashes erupt in Basirhat. hindustantimes. 6 July 2017. en.
  3. News: West Bengal riots: Politicians stopped from visiting Basirhat slam TMC govt - News Nation. 8 July 2017.
  4. News: West Bengal communal riots: Situation in Basirhat under control and normal, says Mamata Banerjee govt. firstpost.com.
  5. News: FB post, communal violence leave West Bengal town divided, scarred. 11 July 2017. en.
  6. News: Basirhat: Media's overblown reports belie deep Hindu-Muslim amity in violence-torn West Bengal region. 2017-07-13. Firstpost. 2017-07-13. en-US.
  7. News: What is behind the religious violence in India's West Bengal?. 2017-07-11. BBC News. 2017-07-13. en-GB.
  8. News: In Heart Of Bengal's Communal Unrest, Villagers Blame 'Outsiders' - The Deccan Post. 2017-07-08. The Deccan Post. 2017-07-13.
  9. News: Fake News And Real Violence. indianfolk.com. 2017-07-13. 2017-07-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20170718093455/http://indianfolk.com/fake-news-real-violence/. dead.
  10. Web site: The Biggest Stories of July 09, 2017. www.msn.com. 2017-07-13.
  11. News: A boy's blasphemy triggers communal tinderbox on the border. https://web.archive.org/web/20180515112325/http://cms.newindianexpress.com/nation/2017/jul/05/a-boys-blasphemy-triggers-communal-tinderbox-on-the-border-1624750.html. dead. May 15, 2018. The New Indian Express. 2017-07-13.
  12. News: Bengal violence: Basirhat's Muslim leaders tried to pacify the rioting mob, but couldn't. Hindustan times. 2017-07-09.
  13. News: Facebook post snowballs into communal flare-up in Bengal. https://web.archive.org/web/20170706123016/http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2017/jul/04/facebook-post-snowballs-into-communal-flare-up-in-bengal-1624176.html. dead. July 6, 2017. The New Indian Express. 2017-07-11.
  14. News: Baduria turns into battlefield over FB post. The Asian Age. 2017-07-11.
  15. News: Baduria violence: MHA seeks reports from WB Govt.. 6 July 2017. en.
  16. News: Baduria communal clashes LIVE Updates: Army deployed in North 24 Parganas after police vehicles, shops set on fire in Basirhat of West Bengal. The Financial Express. 5 July 2017.
  17. News: Communal clashes in West Bengal, state government rushes paramilitary troops - Times of India. The Times of India.
  18. News: Violence in Bengal over FB post; Mamata alleges Governor threat. 4 July 2017. en.
  19. News: Violence in Bengal over FB post; Mamata alleges Governor threat. Hindustan Times.
  20. News: Violence in Bengal over FB post; Mamata alleges Governor threat. Indian Express.
  21. News: WB: Section 144 imposed in Basirhat post violent clashes over Facebook post. Deccan Chronicle.
  22. News: Baduria communal clashes: Rajnath Singh seeks report from West Bengal govt. Hindustan Times.
  23. News: Social media posts trigger seven communal riots in month in West Bengal. The Asian Age. 2017-07-11.
  24. News: West Bengal: Women at forefront of Basirhat violence. The New Indian Express. 2017-07-13. 2017-07-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20170711114317/http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2017/jul/07/west-bengal-women-at-forefront-of-basirhat-violence-1625577.html. dead.
  25. Web site: Bengali News, Latest Bangla News, 24 Ghanta Bangla Khabar, বাংলা খবর, Breaking Bangla Khobor | Zee 24 Ghanta.
  26. News: Bengal violence over FB post: Man dies of stab wounds, clashes erupt in Basirhat. 2017-07-11.
  27. News: Fake alert: BJPs Vijeta Malik posts image from Bhojpuri film to show plight of Hindus in West Bengal. 2017-07-13.
  28. News: BJP leader posts scene from Bhojpuri film, says this is 'plight of Hindus' in West Bengal. 2017-07-08. Firstpost. 2017-07-13. en-US.
  29. News: BJP Haryana leader Vijeta Malik shares Bhojpuri movie still to show 'plight of Hindus' in West Bengal Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis. 2017-07-07. dna. 2017-07-13. en-US.
  30. News: No fake news please: Kolkata Police arrest rumour monger who morphed Bhojpuri film scene to spread hate Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis. 2017-07-08. dna. 2017-07-13. en-US.
  31. Web site: Riot-hit Basirhat tense but under control: Official. Deccan Herald. 7 July 2017. 2017-07-13.
  32. News: West Bengal communal riots: One arrested for sharing fake image, inciting violence. 2017-07-09. The Indian Express. 2017-07-13. en-US.
  33. News: Arrested trio have many online profiles - Times of India. The Times of India. 2017-07-13.
  34. News: BJP leader booked for fake posts. The Hindu. 2017-07-13. en.
  35. News: BJP leader booked for 'sharing fake pictures of Baduria clashes'. 2017-07-11. The Indian Express. 2017-07-13. en-US.
  36. News: BJP IT cell secy held in Asansol for posting 'fake' video on social media. 2017-07-12. hindustantimes.com/. 2017-07-13. en.
  37. News: भोजपुरी फिल्म के सीन को बताया बंगाल की हिंसा, आरोपी भाजपा नेता गिरफ्तार. outlookhindi.com/. 2017-07-13.
  38. News: Basirhat riots: BJP MLA asks Hindus in WB to respond as they did in Gujarat. 2017-07-09. Deccan Chronicle. 2017-07-13.
  39. News: Basirhat violence: BJP MLA from Hyderabad wants Hindus to strike back. 2017-07-13.
  40. News: West Bengal communal clashes: BJP MLA Raja Singh asks Hindus to respond like they did in Gujarat. 2017-07-09. The Indian Express. 2017-07-13.
  41. News: West Bengal riots: CM Mamata announces judicial probe, attacks BJP. The New Indian Express. 2017-07-17. 2017-07-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20170710035244/http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2017/jul/08/west-bengal-riots-cm-mamata-announces-judicial-probe-attacks-bjp-1625981.html. dead.
  42. News: Bengal to order judicial inquiry into Baduria-Basirhat incident: Mamata. https://web.archive.org/web/20170910041025/https://www.telegraphindia.com/1170708/jsp/frontpage/story_160855.jsp. dead. September 10, 2017. The Telegraph. 2017-07-17.
  43. News: West Bengal communal riots: Situation in Basirhat under control and normal, says Mamata Banerjee govt. 2017-07-24.

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