Two north Calcutta residents who saw the vandalism near minister Shashi Panja’s residence on Saturday said they had never witnessed anything like it in their neighbourhood in decades.
One is a 60-year-old man who lives with his elderly parents on the fourth floor of a building adjoining Panja’s house. The other is a 62-year-old employee at a local decorator’s shop who locked himself inside for two hours, fearing the vandals would barge in. They recounted the tense hours:
Jayanta Paul, 60
Panja’s neighbour,
runs a gift item store
in Burrabazar
My parents and I were at home watching TV around noon when we suddenly heard people shouting outside. I went to the balcony and saw a large group getting off a bus, shouting Jai Shree Ram.
Some of them headed towards minister Panja’s house next to ours. They started tearing flexes outside the house, shouting in foul language and pelting stones.
A bus on the road was also under attack; its windows were smashed.
I heard a brick or stone hit a windowpane on the first floor of our building. Luckily, those who live there weren’t home.
We shut all doors and windows, and I rushed downstairs to secure the main gate. My parents were extremely anxious and frightened.
My parents were especially scared as they saw news channels showing the vandalism. My father’s blood pressure shot up.
The scene outside was like a war zone. People were screaming, throwing bricks at each other and pelting stones at the minister’s home. A large number of police personnel had arrived, but many were attacked with bricks and slumped to the ground.
We have lived here for 60 years, but I have never seen anything like this in front of my home. I tracked the situation on TV and only opened doors and windows after things seemed under control around 4pm. My parents are still traumatised.
Gautam Guha, 62
Employee at New Hind
Decorators in the area
I was in my office, about to take my lunch break, when I saw several buses passing in front of our shop. People inside were carrying saffron flags and heading for Brigade. One bus stopped near our shop and many started getting down.
They started tearing flexes outside minister Panja’s house, shouting slogans and using foul language. Within seconds, bricks and stones were being hurled at the house.
I panicked and pulled down the store shutter. I was too scared to step outside, thinking I might get hit. I stayed locked in for almost two hours, hearing screams outside. Bricks would hit the shutter every now and then.
It gave me shivers thinking what would happen if the men barged in. I tracked the news on my phone, hoping the situation would calm. My family called frantically to check if I was safe. Being holed up alone inside the shuttered shop felt claustrophobic. This experience is something I will never forget.
I have worked at this store for more than two decades, but I have never witnessed anything like this.
When things finally fell silent, I lifted the shutter slowly to check. The road was strewn with broken bricks and stones. I later saw the vandals had smashed windowpanes of the minister’s home.