Internal Durga Puja memo leaked, Hindutva elements trying to foment communal disturbance in Bengal

Durga Puja ends with Bijaya Dashami and the next day Muslims mourn the historic loss of lives in the Battle of Karbala on the occasion of Muharram. In West Bengal, there has been peace for decades and both communities have never had major confrontations. But since 2014, there have been sudden attacks on temples and Muharram processions. And the number of such incidents are only growing. Though Bengali Hindu ritual prohibits idol immersion on the eleventh day, Ekadashi, this year BJP and its allies have been trying their best to provoke people to immerse the idols on the day, considered religiously inauspicious. The aim of this propaganda seems to be political rather than religious with an intention to create a massive law and order problem by pitting one community against another, National Herald has learnt from an insider who has leaked some information about the Sangh Parivar’s plans to create communal disturbance during Durga Puja.

Due to power struggle between BJP and Hindu Samhati, a number of details have been leaked outside the Hindu right wing circle. As per these details, Hindu Samhati is spreading unnecessary panic among the masses by circulating baseless and provocative notifications. These notifications claim that the Muslims are attacking Hindus in different unspecified areas and give a list of places where the Muslims will be attacking the Hindus during Durga Puja.

Hindu Samhati is the same organisation that was responsible for setting houses and shops on fire last year during the Hazinagar riot, as confessed by a member on camera in presence of its senior member Sujit Maity. Along with the said organisation, certain members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh also allegedly played an important role in organising a mob of looters and arsonists. This year too, the organisation is receiving good support from BJP members in spreading communal hatred. The list was intercepted recently with the help of a prominent member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The list of areas are as follows:

Kolkata Area

1. Maheshtala ward no. 10-
Kali Tala, Jahajipara, Alampur Mullabari, Biswaspara and Doctorpara.

2. Maheshtala / Matiaburz border-
Ward no. 1 (Maila Depot),
Ward no. 2 (Garden Reach)
Ward no. 5 (Molla Para),
Ward no. 7 (Ankra Fatak),
Ward 12, 16 (Muller Gate, Residence of some Santosh), Jhinjira Bazar, Post Office Area and Bata More.

3. Budge Budge - Block-2 (particular location not specified)

4. Pujali ward 2, 10 (particular location not specified)

Hooghly: Chapdani (Angad Masjid) Bhadreswar (Raja Para- Telengi Para Masjid) and Pandua.

Areas highly emphasised:

Kharagpur Sadar, Debra, Datan, Kanthi, Ulberia (MIM), Panchla and Domjur.

Matiaburz, Jahaji Para (BD) Dunlop Alam Bajar.

Other areas:

Durgapur town, Asansol, Raniganj, Jamuria, Bankura (Saltora), Sandeshkhali, Sonarpur, Bhangur, Canning (second block, Jiwan Tala)

Certain names of the targets were also mentioned along with these notifications:

Azan Sheikh of Sandeshkhali, Soukat Molla of Canning (second block, Jiwan Tala) and a person from Jahajipara, addressed as “Sangram Bangladeshi Muslim”.

Originally written in Hindi in Devanagari script, it is evident from the basic spelling mistakes and pronunciation that the person writing these notifications isn’t a native of the state. However, the second and the third part have been written in English and Bengali, by at least three individuals as evident from the writing style. A person has been named on the list by his first name, Santosh, which emphasises the fact that it is directly copied from internal messages that the writer received which were sent to provoke and mobilise a non-native mob. Sources associated with the Hindu right-wing have identified Santosh Kumar, District Convenor of BJP Trade Cell, South 24 Paraganas (W) and Maheshtala- 1 following the details of his residence mentioned in the text.

Coincidently, he enjoys good attention every time attacks are made on Bengali temples. Surprisingly, temples of the native Bengali gods and goddesses have been attacked repeatedly but no temple belonging to North Indian deities was ever touched by the miscreants in these areas.

Original Text:

A ) रिपोर्ट बजबज महेशतल्ला एरिया से :

१) महेशतला- वार्ड न.10, जहा दो बार पिछले साल गाय का मांस मंदिरो (शीतला मंदिर/ कलितला, माँ काली मंदिर) में फेका है, दोनों बार F.I.R. दर्ज हुयाहै किन्तु रबिन्द्रनगर थाना पुलिस पदाधिकारी व् प्रशासन कोई करवाई नहीं करवाया !

२) महेशतला वार्ड न. ५ & ७ :- जहा पिछले वर्ष (६ सितम्बर, २ अक्टूबर,२०१६) इसी क्षेत्र से दो बार अश्त्र कारखाना स्थानीय लोगो के सहायता सेबंगाल पुलिस ने पकड़ा था, और इस क्षेत्र में बांग्लादेशी अवैध रूप से रह रहे है जिसके लिए वोहा के स्थानीय निवासी करीब ५०० ने मास पेटिंसन करकेहोम मिनिस्ट्री में भेजे है और वोहा के जेहादी लगातार उन स्थानीय वासी को टारगेट कर रखा है

३) महेशतला वार्ड १० के कालीतल्ला, जहाजीपाड़ा ( संग्राम बांग्लादेशी मुस्लिम एवं उसके साथी), आलमपुर मुल्लाबाड़ी, बिस्वासपाड़ा, डॉक्टरपाड़ा

४) महेशतला/ मटियाब्रुज सीमा- वार्ड न. १ (मैला डेपो), २ (गार्डन रिच) ५ (मुल्ला पाड़ा),७ (आंकड़ा फाटक), १२, १६ (मुलरगेट, संतोष का निवास स्थान), झिंजिरा बाजार, डाकघर एरिया, बाटा मोड !

५) बजबज - ब्लॉक-२

६) पुजाली वार्ड २, १०

National Herald has come to know about more such areas from a different source who happens to be a BJP leader of importance. These are Nabadwip, Bethua, Kaliganj, Samudragarh, Kusum Gram, Karimpur and Katua.

Coincidently, a day after the names of these places were leaked, pieces of beef were thrown in seven temples covering two of the above mentioned areas. Once again, the pictures and videos were uploaded on social media that were shared more than a thousand times and resulted in a swift increase in the uploader’s followers.

The police have recently seized a large quantity of Ammonium Nitrate at Saltora, Bankura. Though the reason behind storing such a high amount of chemical, used in explosives, is still unknown, the incident took place at a not-so-known area of Bankura district. Coincidently, it is the only area mentioned in the list mentioned above.