Muslim men threatened to break Durga idol storming into pandal in dispute over music, alleges Kolkata puja club

The club claimed a group Muslim men stormed into the pandal objecting to the music being played during the Ashtami and Navami rituals.

It alleged the mob said the music was disturbing their Namaz (prayers) leading up to a scene of confrontation inside the pandal. A video of the altercation is now viral on social media.

"Today at 1:13 pm, near about 50-60 hooligans (Muslim mob) came to our Puja pandal and interrupted rituals and threatened to disrupt our Puja pandal and also said that they would break Maa Durga's idol. In between this, they pushed and used slang language against our women members and other members as well," the club had said in its police complaint.

Soon after the altercation, senior members of the community and police intervened and calmed the situation.

Police have launched a case and the probe is underway.

Tagging the Kolkata Commission of Police, Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party MLA, Suvendu Adhikari, wrote on X, "What is this Mr. @CPKolkata; Shri Manoj Kumar Verma (IPS)? How did the goons garner the ability to storm into a Durga Puja Pandal under the Jurisdiction of the @KolkataPolice and threaten to vandalise the idol of Maa Durga if the rituals aren't stopped?"

"How can you allow this to happen? I believe you will take the strictest action possible against the culprits and make them realize that it is Kolkata not Dhaka."

In another follow-up X post, Adhikari said, "I can understand that many people, especially Sanatanis are concerned regarding the fate of the Durga Puja Pandal of New Bengal Sporting Club at Garden Reach; Kolkata. Let me assure you that, the rituals are going on unobstructed. Hindus are united and the religious fervour of the Sanatanis is evident.

"I would like to urge @CPKolkata to identify all the miscreants, who are clearly visible in the video footage and book them under the appropriate Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS). Only exemplary punishment would deter the reoccurrence of such incidents in the future."