Bengal violence: Man injured in Basirhat has died in a hospital in Kolkata (PTI photo)
A man injured in communal violence in Basirhat, a town about 70 km from Kolkata, has died in a hospital in the West Bengal capital.
Kartik Ghosh, 45, was brought to Kolkata from a government hospital in Basirhat on Tuesday, where he was admitted in a critical condition. 21 people have been injured in the violence since Monday night. Of the injured, eight people have been shifted to Kolkata's RG Kar hospital in critical condition.
There is heavy security at RG Kar hospital where Mr Ghosh died. BJP leader Locket Chatterjee, who claims that the Mr Ghosh was an RSS worker, was heckled and chased away allegedly by supporters of the ruling Trinamool Congress this morning.
"Total administration failure in Bengal," said a senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya, who landed in Kolkata this morning.
Baduria, about 20 km from Basirhat, was the epicentre of the violence that began in Bengal's North 24 Parganas on Monday after a Facebook post by a teen about Prophet Mohammad. He was arrested, but clashes began with mobs setting vehicles on fire and throwing bombs.
Some roads were totally cut off by large groups of both communities.
The violence - which swept through Baduria, Basirhat, Haroa, Swarupnagar and Deganga - peaked on Tuesday and simmered to an uneasy calm yesterday after the BSF began patrolling the area.
The centre has sent 400 personnel of the BSF to Bengal to help maintain peace.
He was arrested, but the post triggered violence with mobs setting vehicles on fire, throwing bombs and blocking roads and rail traffic.
The violence - which swept through Baduria, Basirhat, Haroa, Swarupnagar and Deganga - peaked on Tuesday and simmered to an uneasy calm yesterday after the BSF began patrolling the area.
The centre has sent 400 personnel of the BSF to Bengal to help maintain peace.
The BJP has accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of protecting anti-social elements and said the situation is a fallout of her appeasement of the Muslim community which supports her party.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has blamed the BJP and fringe groups for the violence.