Hindus wrecked in Bagchi Jamsherpur, Nadia

Radical Muslim mob stops Charak Puja; burn down houses, injure Hindus  

While the Election Commission is found to apprehend only that utmost violence may mar the Parliamentary Election, 2014 in Bengal, ferocity has already set in but through soaring communal clashes at this time. On April 14, 2014, the village of Bagchi Jamsherpur within the Hogolberia police station’s jurisdiction in the district of Nadia experienced attack by a group of radical Muslims inhabiting the vicinity. The sole aim of the group was to stop the Charak Puja in the village of Bagchi Jamsherpur and also to rip financial benefits from Hindus living in the village. It was learnt, later, the attack had been designed weeks before and more than hundreds of Islamists from the neighborhood formed the group. The Puja was forestalled and Hindus suffered in every possible manner.

According to the villagers, the whole village remains elated (on every year) regarding Gajan at this time and the Puja is conducted by the Bagchi Trustee Board. The same Board owns the Hitosadhani land that amounts to 1.5 bigha. While 9% of it has already been donated to the village Panchayat, Hindus do carry out their religious practices in the remaining part of land. Different forms of Puja have been taking place here for the last 200 years without interruption and a permanent podium to worship Devi Kali also exists in it. Villagers assert that Islamists have been demanding half of the land unreasonably and due to the tacit support of local political parties, the demand is intensifying more and more.

On April 14, 2014, at 6 pm, a large group of radical Muslims entered the village of Bagchi Jamsherpur all of a sudden and asked Hindus to stop the Charak Puja. When they were asked by Hindus of the reason behind such a weird demand, they termed it as awful to Islamic values. This single comment was enough to enrage Hindus that led to a wild brawl between the two groups. Both groups were joined by their coreligionists in large numbers within minutes; Hindus of the village were unanimous to drive out Islamists while Islamists from the neighborhood and also from Murshidabad became vanguards. To quell the wild clashes and also any chance of using weapons, a large police team reached the spot soon. But what happened next remains incomprehensible yet. Despite the presence of higher officials including SDO and SDPO, the Muslim mob attacked the Hindu village with bombs and pistols and five houses of Hindus were burnt down also. The large police team remained silent instead of hindering the Muslim arsonists. Two Hindus got injured, hence, and while one of them is admitted at the Shaktinagar hospital in Krishnanagar, the other one is in a critical condition at Nilratan Sarkar Medical College in Kolkata. Some people have stated that even if police tried to rein in the Islamic savagery, they failed ultimately and fled. The Additional District Magistrate (ADM) visited the village at 11.30 pm to take stock of the situation but his visit couldn’t deter police from arresting 3 Hindus villagers incriminated to vitiate the atmosphere at 3.30 am on April 15. No case has been registered in the police station officially yet.

Hindu Samhati regularly monitors and reports violations against Hindus in West Bengal. We also work with both governmental and NGO agencies for proper education on protection and ensure remedies to the Hindu populace as per prevailing law of the land.