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West Bengal Assembly's Leader of Opposition and BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari visited the violence-hit area of Mothabhari in the Malda district of West Bengal on Tuesday. Earlier, Adhikari had claimed that around 86 shops and houses of people from the Hindu community were "looted and destroyed", and he is going to meet the families in the area.
Visuals from Mothabari showed women welcoming Adhikari amid heavy security and chanting slogans to welcome him. Adhikari shook hands and enquired about the situation of the women there. Violence had broken out between two groups in the Mothabari-Malda area on March 27. Since then, 61 people have been arrested, and the Internet has been suspended in three areas. "86 shops of Hindus and houses were destroyed and looted, the 24 people who have been arrested are not those involved in the incident," Adhikari told ANI. The West Bengal LoP had earlier approached the Calcutta High Court to grant him permission to visit the Mothabari area on April 11, with the condition that he goes alone and only between 10 AM and 3 PM. "I tried to go there but was not permitted. They didn't respect the LoP's position. I am thankful that the court has allowed me to go there - but asked me to go there alone... I will meet the victim's families, and I also intend to provide some compensation to them," he added. Police, citing prohibitory orders in the area, stopped the BJP delegation led by BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar a few kilometres from the Mothabari area a few days ago. Adhikari, while walking around the violence hit area told ANI, "86 shops and houses of hindus have been vandalised...We are talking with everyone (affected by violence)." On April 1, Additional Director General (ADG) Law and Order Jawed Shamim said that 19 cases had been registered and 61 people had been arrested. Speaking to ANI, ADG Jawed Shamim said, " Till now, 19 cases have been registered, and 61 people have been arrested in this matter...Soon, the situation will be completely normal. Today, there have been no incidents (of violence) in the region." (ANI)
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