On July 2, a Facebook post by a Hindu teenager sparked violent communal clashes in North Parganas, which led to the death of one person and the destruction of a few police vehicles. However, amid all this, the way the news played out on social media, and the reactions it received shows that in this day and age it is becomingly increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction. It is important also to point out that BJP and its related organisations went on an overdrive to tarnish the image not just of Muslims in Bengal but also promote false news. While party members went berserk uploading fake images on social media, its leaders came out saying that they would ensure a Godhra-like incident happens in Bengal soon. In this two-part series, Mirza Mosaraf Hossain looks at Baduria and Bashirhat separately and focus on separating facts from fiction. In the first part, we look at how things unfolded in the week following July 2 in Baduria and listen to what the locals had to say about the incidents.
There is a high chance that before July 2, you may never have heard of Baduria, a municipal town with a population of 52,000 in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. One Facebook post and the reactions it evoked brought national attention to this town and for all the wrong reasons. But before we start explaining what happened, let us explain the demography of Baduria. Unlike what a lot of right-wing media said, the majority population in the town is of Hindus: 55% and Muslims 45%, as confirmed by the former chairman of the municipality. It has a total of 17 Wards and according to the results of 2015 elections, there are nine councillors from TMC, one from CPI, three from BJP, one from CPIM and three from Congress. Three months back, one BJP councilor-Sukla Mondal from Araberia (Ward no 8)- joined TMC. This town has a literacy rate of about 67%.
Magurkhali village is the 17th and the last ward of the municipality. It is a village of 2,500 families, as informed by an ex-vice chairman of the municipality, Amirul Islam, who coincidentally happens to be a resident of this village. In the last election in 2015, BJP candidate Manisha Ghosh defeated Rehana Begum with a margin of 50 votes—Begum got 450 and Ghosh 500. Ghosh confirmed Islam’s claim that the village consists of a Hindu majority, and the homes of Hindus and Muslims are distributed equally across the village. A local source also confirmed that the land for the mosque of the village was given by a Hindu and till now the mosque receives various contributions in his name. What makes this even more interesting is that the house of the accused teen happens to be in front of the mosque.
Sauvik Sarkar, the 17-year-old accused, is currently enrolled in the 11th grade, pursuing Arts stream from Rudrapur Rajballav High School, half a km from his house. Here he also completed his Matriculation. He lost his mother eight years ago and he was brought up by his elder uncle and aunt. Two of his uncles are Sub-Inspectors in Bengal’s police department. Each and every villager we spoke, whether Hindu or Muslims, confirmed that his family had or have no political link, now or before. His classmates also describe him as a gentle person.
On July 2, a derogatory photo insulting Islamic sentiments was posted in his Facebook profile between 2.30 to 3.00 P.M from his village, Magurkhali. This caused an uproar among Muslims of the region. By 7 P.M, about five thousand Muslims from various places, whom the villagers of Magurkhali had never seen earlier, assembled on the school ground of Rudrapur demanding immediate action against the boy. To keep the situation under control, Tushar Singh, the present Chairman of Baduria, Bappa Mitra, the local O.C of Baduria police station, SDPO reached there with a local Muslim leader, Abdul Matin who is the General Secretary of All India Sunnatul Al Jamayat, a non-profit Political Islamic Welfare Trust. Matin pleaded all Muslims to maintain peace in the locality and by 3 am on July 3, Sauvik had been arrested.
Next day, road blockades started in the nearby villages –Ramchandrapur, Keosha, Swarupnagar by Muslims demanding severe punishment for Souvik. The mob even torched tyres on the road, tried to inflame Hindu shops but there was no serious visible rampage at these villages.
Another incident took place at Sayestanagar market of Baduria constituency on Monday afternoon where an 18-year-old Muslim boy Safiqul Gazi from Katiahat village, was attacked when he was coming from the nearby Gachha village with his friend Rejaul Gazi. “We were assaulted by 10-15 Hindus on the road on our way to home and were rebuked with slang languages. They forced us to say Jai Sri Ram and snatched our bicycle, chains and ring”, said Safiqul whose right hand was wrapped with six stitches.
At around 5 pm on the same day, about 300 to 400 Muslims gheraoed the police station asking the police to hand over the accused. When police thwarted their demand, the mob torched three police jeeps in retaliation. More than 400 people, not from the Magurkhali village as confirmed by many Hindu and Muslim villagers, at around 6.30 P.M, gathered in front of Souvik’s house to torch it when the news of burning jeeps at the police station reached them. Many Muslims from this village urged the mob not to do so. “What are you doing? Who are you? We have not seen you earlier in this locality Why are you worsening Hindu- Muslim relation?” was the request of one of Muslims of the village. Later, he along with Hindus and many Muslims of the village watered the flame and called the fire brigade. Following this incident, the village calmed down to the persistence of its residents and nothing untoward happened after this.
“Souvik and his father and uncles bear good traits. They even do not go to the village club. The chances of them having political linkage are next to impossible. The boy looks simple and like any other youth: It’s unbelievable that he could do such kind of heinous activities”, said a Muslim neighbour of Souvik who knew him from his birth.
“At first, we were shocked when we heard Souvik was behind this. He used to remain silent all time and did not talk many other classmates except his four Hindu friends. How could he commit such a crime?” was the question posed by one of Souvik’s Muslim classmates from the same village. He also confirmed that Souvik had never uttered any anti-Muslim remark in the class or in the playground.
According to another of Souvik’s neighbour, who is a Hindu, “The reaction of Muslims made matters much more complicated. Who is behind Souvik’s brainwashing, what provoked him to do this kind of loathing deeds could have been answered if normalcy had prevailed after his arrest”. He also said that there is a high chance that his Facebook account must have been hacked or his friends have done it using his phone.
The imam of the village mosque, which is hardly 20 meters from Souvik’s house, said, “ I am serving as Imam in this village for 25 years. I have not seen anything such as Hindu-Muslim clash in this village. Now whatever happened is condemnable. On the very day it took place, Abdul Matin, the General Secretary of All India Sunnatul Al Jamayat along with local police and administration pleaded Muslims not to vitiate the situation and maintain peace in the locality.” He also added that Muslims of this village have full faith in law and order of the country and condemned the mobs that are not from this village.
Local police administration played a vital role in calming down the situation. From 3rd July 144 is enforced in the locality, internet connection was suspended until July 10. Prabhas Chandra Dey, the Sub-Inspector of Baduria police station who is handling the case, could not be contacted.
No rampage of shops, persons of both, Hindus and Muslims were seen in the village except the partially burnt marks in Souvik’s house. “No Hindu was injured in this mishap. No Hindu properties are damaged in this locality except Souvik’s one. Though the present situation is normal, Villagers are in utter tension for further possible consequences,” said Manisha Ghosh, the BJP Councilor of the village. She also said that local administration along with Councillors and MLAs took a decision in a meeting convened by the B.D.O for a communal harmony rally. But the date is not till now fixed.
So, in essence, while tensions ran high and tempers flew, Bhaduria did limp back to normalcy. But, if you were to see social media during this period, you would have been made to believe that all hell broke loose in the region. In the next part of this series, we will look at what conspired in Bashirhat, the other region where a series of events turned ugly.
Courtesy: Two Circles