Despite writing on the wall, Bengal police were sitting ducks in Howrah

It was a disaster waiting to happen. Communal tensions in Howrah, West Bengal flared up for a second time in a row, despite warnings and the police not imposing curbs swiftly.

The Kazipara and PM Basti areas located adjacent to Shibpur police station witnessed stone pelting for several hours, with the police personnel of Bengal stuck in between. The stone pelting took place at a time when the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Adani Putra Sena took out processions. Last year too, the area witnessed communal tensions owing to stone pelting and this makes it clear that the police in Bengal were caught napping for a second year in a row.

The areas continue to remain tense for the past three days. The ruling TMC and opposition BJP have accused each other for the issue. The TMC released a video in which a man can be seen holding a pistol. The BJP on the other hand has submitted two videos to the Howrah police showing incidents of stone pelting from the rooftops as the procession was carried out.

Looking at the videos one gets the clear impression that the police had not followed the protocols. Very little was done on the ground to prevent this violence. In fact there was clear Intelligence to suggest that there would be violence during the procession. The police did not even take a cue from what happened last year.

A source however clarified that the police were in full force during the procession. Videos however show that despite a strong force of 100 being present, they were not equipped. The police instead of fighting the protesters with riot gear, were more on the defensive. They were seen defending themselves with milk crates as the mob roamed around fearlessly.

This year the situation was worse and the tensions in the area linger on. Last year, there was stone pelting and other incidents of arson. The police were however able to calm tensions and restore law and order in about an hour. This year the situation is different and the police action clearly seems to be lacking.

The tensions at Howrah prompted Union Home Minster, Amit Shah to speak with the West Bengal Governor. Sources tell OneIndia that a close watch would be kept on the situation. If the need be, central forces could be deployed. From the face of it, it appears as though the state police is unable to bring a halt to the tensions in the area. The force looked clearly out of place and despite the writing on the wall, the police failed in curbing the violent, the source also said.