Bengal's Baduria burns as Facebook post sparks communal fire; Centre rushes troops

An 'objectionable' Facebook post sparked communal tension in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Tuesday. After a request from the state, 400 troops of the Border Security Force (BSF) were sent to control the situation.

Tension flared after the social media post by a 17-year-old student on Friday about Prophet Mohammed, NDTV reported. The youth was arrested but violent protests erupted in Baduria, located 70 km from Kolkata and other places nearby.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has directed home ministry to look into the issue 

Mamata's fury

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the situation in the state led to a war of words between her and Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi during a phone call. While talking to mediapersons at the secretariat, she said that she felt "threatened" and "humiliated" by the way the governor spoke to her "like a BJP block president".

"The governor has not elected me. The people have elected me. The governor's behaviour was unacceptable. How dare he talk to me about law and order?," she said.

Governor's response

The governor responded to the charges by saying that there was nothing in the talks that would make her feel threatened or insulted. In a statement, he added that he cannot be a 'mute spectator' to the violence.

The clashes

Large mobs attacked shops, blocked roads and rail tracks at many places near Kolkata on Monday. A crowd of people attacked Baduria police station and set several police vehicles on fire. Reports say that Mamta's partymen faced problem in Berachampa. Trinamool parliamentarians Idris Ali and Hasan Imram Ahmed were addressing a crowd in the violence-affected area when it turned violent, and they had to rescue a Hindu sadhu who was trying to calm people.

Ali blamed BJP for the violence, and asked who had incited the youth to put up the post on Facebook, NDTV reported.

The BJP alleged that more than 2,000 Muslims had attacked Hindu families in the North 24 Parganas district. Many shops and houses were attacked in Badurai, Tentulia and Golabari.