Waqf Protest Sparks Tension in N Bengal

Police deployed in Siliguri and Malda amid fears of communal clashes during Charak Puja and Gajon festivals, following unrest over the amended Waqf Act

- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE

As tensions simmer across parts of West Bengal, heavy police deployment has been made in Ward No. 4 under the Siliguri Police Commissionerate to prevent community clashes during the Charak Puja and Gajon festival.

Simultaneously, in Malda's Kaliachak area, police have resorted to public announcements via microphones, urging residents not to believe or spread rumours related to recent communal unrest in Murshidabad, where victims have reportedly taken refuge in Parlalpur, situated on the banks of the Ganges in Malda district.

Police have launched special initiatives to maintain law and order following the communal tensions sparked by ongoing protests against the Amended Waqf Act.

Significantly, even as the Malda district administration has stepped in to provide essential aid to the victims sheltering in Baisnabnagar, the BJP has established a 'control room' in Dakshin Malda to assist those displaced by the violence in Jangipur subdivision of Murshidabad, many of whom have taken refuge in Malda and nearby areas.