Suvendu alleges attack on people of 'Sanatani' community in Malda

Kolkata, May 18 (PTI) Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday alleged that people of the 'Sanatani' community were attacked, their shops were looted, and vehicles vandalised at Ratua in West Bengal's Malda district for constructing a temple.

The Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly in a post on X said, "Once again, the sanctity of the night (Saturday) has been shattered in Ratua, Malda district, as the Sanatani community faces relentless attacks from radical extremist elements. Their only fault was constructing a temple." "In a brazen act of violence, miscreants targeted the community, pelting stones and bricks indiscriminately, turning the area into a battlefield of fear and destruction. The latest reports confirm that not only have homes been targeted, but several shops have been looted and vehicles belonging to the Sanatani community have also been vandalised. The debris and broken remnants scattered across the streets are a stark reminder of the impunity with which these attacks were carried out," Adhikari added.

The BJP leader alleged that the police remained "conspicuously absent during these incidents". He urged the state government, through his lawyer for immediate intervention in the matter.

The West Bengal Police on Sunday dismissed the allegations of the Leader of Opposition about miscreants of radical extremists attacking people of Sanatani community at Ratua in Malda district for constructing a temple there and described it as an effort to "spread misinformation".

The police claimed that the incident was a clash between two groups over a "minor issue" of toto (e-rickshaw) parking in front of a shop under Ratua Police Station of Malda on Saturday evening.

"Efforts are being made from certain quarters to spread misinformation about an incident on the evening of 17.05.2025 under the Ratua Police Station of Malda. Facts are, a clash between two groups took place over a minor issue of toto parking in front of a shop," the Malda District Police said in a post on X.

"The two groups resorted to stone pelting and brick-batting, causing minor damage to a few shops/structures on both sides. Police reached the spot and chased away both sides using necessary force and resumed the traffic," the police added. PTI SCH RG