Three Bharatiya Janata Party members were detained at Malda railway station on Monday morning and were reportedly asked to return as they would not be allowed to visit Kaliachak, where a riot took place on January 3 (pictured above). The Mamata Banerjee government has said the riot was not communal and was a clash between locals and Border Security Force personnel.

The three BJP members, SS Ahluwalia, Bhupendra Yadav and Vishnu Dayal Ram, were part of a fact-finding team sent to the area to investigate the violence. Two party members from the state Krishanu Mitra and Joy Banerjee were also detained. The Home Ministry had asked the West Bengal government to submit a report on the violence. Home Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to visit the area on January 18.

The riot took place when a protest against Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari’s controversial comments on Prophet Mohammad grew violent. After the riot in Kaliachak, there was violence in Purnea in Bihar over the same issue.