RISHRA: An uneasy calm prevailed in the area near Rail Gate 4 at Rishra on Tuesday. Shops downed shutters and empty roads bore telltale signs of Monday night’s flare-up – stones, shreds of broken bottles and remains of a half-charred police van. Cops have by far outnumbered locals on the road, exercising Section 144 CrPC.
Police arrested 50 people since Monday – 38 of them on Tuesday. The prohibitory orders in Rishra and Serampore will be in force “till normalcy returns”.
Even though the internet is suspended, rumours are running thick and fast through word of mouth. Police were edgy with the Hanuman Jayanti coinciding with the ongoing Ramzan.
As tension prevailed since Ram Navami violence at Rishra, the sound of a bomb was enough to shatter the peace. “Around 8.15pm on Monday, the first bomb was hurled towards Rail Gate 4 from Naya Bustee,” said Nawal Kishor Mahato, a resident of R K Road. As cops from Rishra police station came to inquire, they were greeted with brickbats. “The bricks were coming from the roof of one of the biggest housing blocks in Rishra,” said an officer.
“Cops got an enforcement of Rapid Action Force. By that time, a section of Naya Bastee mob set fire to a police van,” said Nishant Kumar, a resident of Subhas Nagar Abasan.
“It was a violent sight that we never witnessed. Poor people were fleeing their homes, shops were being shut in a hurry and passengers at Rishra station were looking for a cover, amid war cries and bomb charging from either side of the No.4 level crossing. Had the police not acted in time, it would have been worse,” said Firoz Ali, a resident of R K Road.
“I was returning from my shop. A brickbat struck below my eye. When I went to cops, they threatened to arrest me,” said Rahul Sharma, a resident of the housing block.
Police arrested 50 people since Monday – 38 of them on Tuesday. The prohibitory orders in Rishra and Serampore will be in force “till normalcy returns”.
Even though the internet is suspended, rumours are running thick and fast through word of mouth. Police were edgy with the Hanuman Jayanti coinciding with the ongoing Ramzan.
As tension prevailed since Ram Navami violence at Rishra, the sound of a bomb was enough to shatter the peace. “Around 8.15pm on Monday, the first bomb was hurled towards Rail Gate 4 from Naya Bustee,” said Nawal Kishor Mahato, a resident of R K Road. As cops from Rishra police station came to inquire, they were greeted with brickbats. “The bricks were coming from the roof of one of the biggest housing blocks in Rishra,” said an officer.
“Cops got an enforcement of Rapid Action Force. By that time, a section of Naya Bastee mob set fire to a police van,” said Nishant Kumar, a resident of Subhas Nagar Abasan.
“It was a violent sight that we never witnessed. Poor people were fleeing their homes, shops were being shut in a hurry and passengers at Rishra station were looking for a cover, amid war cries and bomb charging from either side of the No.4 level crossing. Had the police not acted in time, it would have been worse,” said Firoz Ali, a resident of R K Road.
“I was returning from my shop. A brickbat struck below my eye. When I went to cops, they threatened to arrest me,” said Rahul Sharma, a resident of the housing block.
