2016 Kaliachak riots

Kaliachak
Date3 January 2016 (2016-01-03)
Location
Malda district, West Bengal, India

24°48′N 88°02′E / 24.8°N 88.03°E / 24.8; 88.03
MethodsPublic demonstration and clashes
Casualties
Death(s)none reported
Injuries30+
Arrested10
Malda District is located in West Bengal
Malda District
Malda District
Location of place of riots in West Bengal, India

Riots broke out in Kaliachak, Malda district in West Bengal, India on 3 January 2016.[1][2][3] Muslims were protesting the remark of political leaders Kamlesh Tiwari. The protest turned into riots when a Muslim mob of more than 1 lakh people attacked the police and vandalised the police station of Kaliachak area.[4][5][6][7]

A section of that protest rally turned violent when infurious protestors tried to broke barricades and confronted the police and Border Security Force (BSF). Mob vandalized Kaliachak Police station, block development office and public property injuring 30 policemen. Several private and government vehicles including BSF and North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) vehicles were torched. The train service was disturbed as protesters blocked railway tracks at Khaltipur railway station.[8]

However, in a subsequent investigation, the violence was determined to have resulted from rivalry between the poppy mafias who were present as protestors and attacked the Police and Border Security Force[9] as according to police about 1500 acre poppy field has been destroyed by the administration the previous week.[10]

  1. ^ "48 hours after communal riots, Kaliachak in Malda turns ghost town". India Today. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  2. ^ "Why did the media ignore the Malda communal violence?". scroll.in. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  3. ^ Banerjie, Monideepa (6 January 2016). "Centre Asks Mamata Government For Report On Malda Mob Violence: 10 Developments". NDTV. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Here's why 1 lakh Muslims are demanding death penalty for Kamlesh Tiwari". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  5. ^ "This is what Kamlesh Tiwari said about Prophet Muhammad which infuriated Muslims". Zee News. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  6. ^ "Muslim rally turns violent, mob burns police station over Kamlesh Tiwari's remarks on Prophet Muhammad". Zee News. 5 January 2016.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Hindu 2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Decoding Malda violence: Unrest was more than communal incident, it was narco mafia's message to cops". Firstpost. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Heroin and poppy is the main business at kaliachak - Eisamay". Eisamay.