The West Bengal Police on Friday stopped political parties from entering violence-hit Basirhat. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had requested political leaders to keep away from the city in North 24 Parganas, while promising that no leader from the Trinamool Congress will visit the district either, NDTV reported.

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Roopa Ganguly was stopped at Michael Nagar, while a Left delegation led by Communist Party of India(Marxist) MP Mohammed Salim was stopped 50 km from Basirhat, ANI reported. A Congress delegation led by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was stopped at Barasat.

Ganguly was later detained by the police.

The police had turned down a BJP delegation’s request to visit Basirhat. BJP National Presdient Amit Shah had asked the delegation, comprising Meenakshi Lekhi, Om Prakash Mathur and Satyapal Singh, to submit a report on the clashes. The team has rescheduled its trip for Saturday, according to Hindustan Times.

Fresh clashes broke out on Friday morning, after which the police fired teargas shells and and began to baton-charge protestors, reported India Today. Angry men and women burnt car tyres on the street, claiming that the police were detaining only Hindu youths in connection with the violence.

Moreover, the West Bengal administration has told the Ministry of Home Affairs that it does not need additional troops to restore normalcy in the riot-hit areas, The Times of India reported.

Violence in North 24 Parganas

Violence ensued in Basirhat on Monday night after a 17-year-old shared an allegedly derogatory post on Facebook about Prophet Mohammad. Clashes broke out as Muslims were angered by the content. One person died and 21 others were injured.

The boy was arrested and sent to jail on Thursday.

The clashes continued till Tuesday, with mobs demanding that the boy to be handed over to them so they can hang him. In some places, roads were dug up and logs rolled out to obstruct vehicular movement.

After a relatively calm Wednesday, violence ensued again on Thursday, with mobs setting shops on fire and vandalising public property.

The deceased, 65-year-old Kartik Ghosh, is believed to have been a member of the BJP, but his family has denied these claims.