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The 2013 Canning riots refers to the violent clashes erupted in Canning subdivision and adjoining areas of South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal following the incident of attack and murder of a prominent Muslim cleric, Maulana Ruhul Kuddus by a gang of unidentified gunmen. on Naliakhali main road.

Fuelled by wild rumors and anger against the police for allegedly taking the case lightly, a mob of thousands plundered four villages and burnt down about 200 houses in the Canning police station area. Incidents of violence were reported from Canning, Jaynagar, Kultali and Basanti police station areas. Angry mobs blocked traffic at several places in the district including the Kolkata Basanti highway. The rail services were disrupted as blockade was put up at Ghutiari Sharif railway station in the Sonarpur-Canning section of the Sealdah South lines.

Background

On 19 February 2013, shortly after midnight, Indian Standard Time, a Muslim Imam from Ghutiari Sharif in Canning subdivision was returning from a religious congregation at Jamtala haat in Kultali, in a motorcycle along with his colleague, Abdul Wahab. When they reached Naliakhali around 2 a.m., they were intercepted by a gang of goons, who robbed the cleric and shot at them. While Kuddus was shot at and his throat slit but his aides Wahab received grievous injuries and managed to escape. According to police sources the cleric was reportedly carrying ₹1,150,000 in cash that was looted by the unidentified gunmen. At dawn, the driver of the first bus from Golabari to Canning discovered the body and intimated the Canning police station. Several other bus drivers travelling on that route communicated their findings to the police station. The police initially took the incident casually and made no effort to visit Naliakhali.

Local Muslim leaders have alleged that from the past few years Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Hindu Sanghati workers have been continuously campaigning in that area and spreading hatred against the Muslims in both South and North 24 Parganas.

Before this event, four months ago another Muslim cleric, Maulana Rejaul Karim was shot dead in Hatuganj under the Diamond Harbour police station of South 24 Parganas, where local residents of the area had pointed fingers at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and RSS workers. Police has so far not been able to trace the culprits or even the motive behind the murder and with the murder of another Muslim cleric with large followers in the same district emotionally charged he locals.

Violence

Naliakhali is a village in the Gopalpur panchayat that fell under the executive jurisdiction of the Canning police station. Shortly after news of the Imam's death was known to the local population, scores of Muslim mourners gathered at dawn around the body of the Imam at the location of the shooting, blocking the road. When a junior police officer and two constables were sent to recover the body, they were surrounded by the crowd as they refused the postmortem of the cleric's body.

As the crowd started to swell with the Imam's parishioners and Muslims from other parts of West Bengal, rumours began to spread that the killers of the Imam were locals from Naliakhali. Thousands of people from neighbouring areas, such as Canning, Jibantala, Sarengabad, Jhorormore, Narayanpur and Dhoaghata gathered on the site and refused to part with the body of cleric. When the police tried to take away the body of the cleric for processing, the mob attacked the police with brickbats. Anup Kumar Ghosh, the sub-inspector of the police station at Canning, was injured and admitted to the Canning Sub-divisional Hospital. Seven policemen were injured in the attack. The mob also attacked and damaged police vehicles.

Soon after this event, a violent protest organised by Tapan Ghosh, a leader of a Hindu outfit named Hindu Samhati. Supporter of the Hindu Samhati had held a road blockade at Kultali to protest the violence at Canning on February 18. During the agitation, the supporters had attacked the police and few police personnel were injured. Police had lodged a FIR against 37 supporters and arrested 23 other. Tapan Ghosh was also arrested but soon released in Bail. Later, on 24 March, he was again arrested by the police for another incident that took place at Gopalnagar in North 24-Parganas on October 27,2012 when his supporters allegedly attacked the police during a protest roadblock.

At around 11 a.m., the South 24 Parganas District Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar Tripathi, reached the spot along with a massive riot squad and Rapid Action Force battalions. They resorted to lathicharge in order to pacify and disperse the mob. The body of the Imam was then sent for an autopsy. In the late afternoon reinforcements from the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate and the Howrah Police Commissionerate reached with water cannons to douse the flames of the burning village. The police evoked Section-144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and established a curfew in the area.

Aftermath

In the violence, about 200 houses were burnt in several villages that came under the jurisdictions of the Canning, Joynagar, Kultali and Basanti police stations, displacing more than 2,000 people. The state government announced a compensation of ₹300,000 to the family of the murdered cleric and ₹10,000 to each of the 93 families displaced by the violence.. 52 people were arrested by the police in connection with the violence though the probe into the alleged murder of the cleric yet to make headway. Some NGOs have provided food and medicine to the affected region in Naliakhali.

West Bengal Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Trinamool Congress MLA from Magrahat West constituency Giasuddin Molla accused the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Indian National Congress of fomenting trouble in the state before the panchayat elections. The Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has appealed for peace and promised a special investigation into the murder case.

The state Human Rights Commission has ordered a sua sponte inquiry into the Canning incident.

See also

• 2010 Deganga riots

References

1. ^ "South 24 Parganas tense, calm". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
2. ^ "Muslim cleric shot dead in Canning". The Indian Express. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
3. ^ "Priest shot dead at Canning". The Statesman. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
4. Ali, Arshad (20 February 2013). "Muslim cleric shot dead in Canning". The Indian Express. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
5. ^ "Communal violence returns to haunt Bengal". Gulf News. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
6. ^ "Violence after villager murder". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
7. ^ Banerjie, Monideepa (22 February 2013). "200 houses burnt in Bengal village by mob protesting cleric's death". NDTV. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
8. ^ Saha, Prasenjeet (20 February 2013). "100 houses gutted in protest against murder". The Bengal Post. Kolkata. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
9. ^ "গুলিতে মৃত্যু, ক্যানিংয়ে তুলকালাম". Anandabazar Patrika (in Bengali). Kolkata. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
10. "Hindu outfit leader held again". The Indian Express. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
11. "Rights body orders suo motu inquiry into Canning priest killing incident". The Statesman. Retrieved 30 March 2013.

• Use dmy dates from March 2013
• Riots and civil disorder in India
• Religious riots
• Religious violence in India
• History of West Bengal (1947–present)
• South 24 Parganas district
• Politico-Religious violence in West Bengal
• Islam and violence
• Persecution of Hindus
• Criticism of Islam
• Muslim history task force articles
• Islam and Controversy task force
• Islam-related controversies
• Islam-related controversies in Asia