Ground Report: What Really Happened in Violence-hit Telinipara, West Bengal

'While the whole world has been fighting the novel coronavirus, Telinipara, a locality in the suburban West Bengal town of Bhadreswar, 40 km north of state capital Kolkata, has been fighting communal tension since May 12. Telinipara, once famous for its jute industry, is located on the eastern edge of Hooghly district, beside the eponymous river, and is part of Hooghly parliamentary constituency. On the evening of Sunday, May 10, a small inter-community squabble broke out here, which was resolved by police intervention. Monday, May 11 passed without incident. Then, on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 12, a big mob descended on the locality and large-scale targeted violence followed. The district magistrate imposed Section 144 on the same day, and also suspended internet services in the adjoining Chandannagar and Shrirampur subdivisions of Hooghly district, within which Bhadreswar and Telinipara lie...'