GANGASAGAR BURNS AGAIN
Gangasagar burns again. Muslims demolished a Hindu club, looted all its articles and sports instruments, destroyed a dozen Hindu shops, looted all goods, the police remained merely meek spectator and strangely detained 16 Hindus whose shops have been looted.
Rudranagar is the village where Sagar Police Station is situated in the famous Hindu pilgrimage Gangasagar island. Within half km distance of the Sagar Police Station, there is one renowned Club of the local Hindu youths named Ahalya Club. Besides the club building, there is a small piece of vested land measuring about 0.15 acre, owned by the government. Since last 10 years, the Ahalya Club members organize Durgapuja on that land. Nobody has any problem with it. No Muslim reside within one and half kilometer area from that place. And this place is adjacent to Rudranagar market. Moreover, the only Hospital of the island and the BDO office are also situated here.
Yesterday on 1st March at 2 pm, 6-7 Muslims came from outside with 12 concrete pillars and a small signboard made of Tin. They put up the signboard on that vacant land where Durgapuja is performed and left the place quietly. On the signboard, “Here Okttia Mosque will be constructed” were written. For sometime, nobody noticed it. After about two hours, when people saw it, they became perplexed and furious. The word spread. Ahalya Club members and about 200 general Hindus assembled. At 7.30 pm the signboard was removed by them. Again the word spread. Muslims started to assemble at various places. At 10 pm, about 500 Muslims mainly from 3 areas, e.g., Khansaheb Abad, Mandirtala and Gangasagar village came to the spot by matador and other vehicles. Almost all were armed with lethal weapons like big iron rods, fire arms, etc. Their first target was the Ahalya Club. The fanatic Muslim mob, with the Islamist slogan ‘Naraye Taghdeer Allahu Akbar’, broke the wooden door and windows of the Club and entered in it. They broke the carrom board, Colour TV and everything inside the club, and then took away all materials including the wooden plates of the door and windows. After destroying the club, the fanatic mob started destroying the roadside shops owned by the Hindus. They destroyed and fully looted about 12 Hindu shops including the cloth shop of Bapi Pradhan, tea stall of Pintu Giri, fertilizer shop of Bharat Mandal, sweetmeat shop of Uttam Patra and others. Police personnel were standing there as mute spectators. They did not even try to stop the Muslim looters. Seeing this, Hindus started to gather. Within half hour, about 200 Hindus assembled and advanced towards the spot.
Then the Muslim looter mob left the place.
The Muslims raised slogans from the procession jontly led by TMC leader and minority cell secretary of local party unit, Seikh Abdul Kahar, Joynal Abedin, minority cell secretary of CPIM, Seikh Saiful, CPIM leader Seikh Samsul, Seikh Azad, Seikh Shah Alam, Seikh Rustam and others. The slogan was also targeted against Shibendu Mandal, Secretary of the Ahalya Club. They declared that Shibendu Mandal's head will be severed since he led the Hindus to remove the Signboard put up the Muslims. Many of them were perpetrators of attacking Hindu Samhati Camp at Gangasagar on 12 June 2008. The difference of their political allegiances did not deter them to attack on the Hindus unitedly.
After the Muslims left the place, when the Hindu shop owners and their family members reached there to see the condition of their shops, the heroic police detained 16 such Hindus in the police station to demonstrate their strength and valor. Till the report is being written, these hapless Hindus have not been showed as arrested, nor have they been released. The West Bengal police is specialized in this art of terrorizing the victim Hindus to maintain peace in its jurisdiction. Extra police contingent and Rapid Action Force from Kakdwip have arrived to the spot. The situation of the entire Gangasagar island is extremely tense.
The nearby Kali Temple beside the BDO office run by the Rudranagar Market Committee has also been vandalised by the Muslim mob. They broke down the grill gate and doors of the Temple.
The rampaging Muslims vandalised the BDO office too.
It is also reported that some so called Hindu leaders with vested political interest and the local govt administration are conspiring to reach a compromise formula. This is the expected fruit which the Muslims know very well how to extract by arm twisting.
