Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the central and state governments to file reports on the recent clash at Mothabari in Malda last week.

"The issue is no doubt serious. The state administration should take every possible step to protect common people and maintain harmony in the area," said Justice Soumen Sen, who headed a division bench.

The state and central governments will have to file separate reports after four weeks of filing a supplementary affidavit by the petitioner within one week. The matter will be heard after five weeks.

The bench, however, refused to accede to the request of the additional solicitor general of eastern India that the Centre could deploy paramilitary forces if the court felt it necessary.

The order followed a public interest litigation filed by residents of Mothabari demanding the central government's intervention in the issue.

On Friday last week, the same bench had sought separate reports from the SP and DM of Malda, along with video footage of the incident. In their reports, the SP and the DM said a clash between two communities had occurred while a procession was passing by a place of worship.

The reports admitted that injuries, arson and damage to vehicles took place during the clash. The SP claimed that a huge force had already been deployed to keep normalcy in the area, and a total of 39 people were arrested.

Suvendu route

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari moved a plea before Justice Tirthankar Ghosh of the high court alleging that the state administration was not allowing him to visit the affected areas of Mothabari.

But the government said Adhikari did not disclose which route he would take and which areas he wanted to visit. The judge asked Adhikari's counsel to share on Friday the details of the route and the areas his client wanted to go.