Tension gripped Kolkata’s busy New Market area on Tuesday evening after a bulldozer was reportedly used in an act of vandalism following the BJP’s victory in the West Bengal elections.
According to reports, a group allegedly targeted a Trinamool Congress party office near Hogg Market, also known as New Market, prompting panic among traders and forcing many shop owners to shut early.
Police said a case has been filed over the incident, and four people have been arrested in connection with the vandalism.
The Trinamool Congress strongly condemned the incident, describing it as an act of “brazen hooliganism and gundagardi”, reports NDTV.
In a statement, the party alleged that BJP supporters went on a rampage in the New Market area, damaging shops and vandalising its party office. It also shared video footage showing a crowd waving BJP flags while a bulldozer demolished a structure.
Trinamool's Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien alleged the bulldozer was brought in to demolish meat shops. "In central Kolkata, near New Market. With police permission. As part of victory celebrations, a bulldozer was brought in to demolish meat shops. CAPF standing around," he said.
The state BJP's chief, Samik Bhattacharya, has asserted that violence in the name of the party won't be tolerated.
The Election Commission said it has sought the deployment of central forces in the area.