A 55-year-old woman was allegedly beaten by some of her neighbours on Diwali night after she protested against the loud crackers they were bursting near her apartment on Ashutosh Mukherjee Road.

Anupama Chowdhury, who lives alone in her apartment near the Elgin Road crossing, said she was jolted awake by a deafening explosion around 11pm on Monday.

“I was sleeping peacefully when the loud noise startled me out of sleep. The room was full of smoke, and I felt suffocated. That was just the beginning. Someone was bursting loud crackers incessantly,” Chowdhury said on Thursday.

Her acquaintance, 65-year-old Nirmal Das, who lives in the same building, also complained of thick smoke in his room.

“They were bursting bombs and possibly throwing them towards our apartment,” he said.

The two residents live on the mezzanine floor of a six-storey building on Ashutosh Mukherjee Road.

Chowdhury said the crackers continued well past midnight. According to court orders, only green crackers are allowed between 8pm and 10pm on Diwali night.

“They started around 11pm, and there was no sign of stopping even past midnight. I am a heart patient and decided to speak to them. I went to the balcony and saw that some residents of my own building and a couple living nearby were bursting the crackers,” she said. When she requested them to stop, the group allegedly ignored her.

Chowdhury then stepped out to speak to them directly. “Instead of listening, they hit me on my chest and pushed me. When Nirmal Das came to my rescue, he too was beaten up,” she alleged.

The duo went to Bhowanipore police station shortly after midnight on October 20. The police officers there allegedly refused to lodge a complaint, citing a power cut caused by a fire.

“They said they wouldn’t be able to register a complaint because there was no power. We requested, and they made
a general diary entry,” Das said.

Chowdhury returned to the police station on Thursday with medical reports for both of them. Based on her fresh complaint, an FIR was registered against those she had named.

A senior officer from the south division denied any delay. “A general diary entry was made the same night. The complainant came again today, and an FIR has been registered. She has complained against some of her relatives. A case has been started and the investigation is on,” the officer said.

No arrests had been made till Thursday evening.

The incident highlights the continuing failure of authorities to curb the sale and use of banned crackers in the city despite court restrictions.

State pollution control board (PBC) control rooms were operated on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. “The police are supposed to check whether banned crackers are being sold. If we receive complaints about crackers being burst beyond the permitted time, we forward them to the police. Besides, eight PCB teams were deployed across the city on Diwali,” a PCB official said.

Calcuttans are familiar with this passing of the buck.

The police said 640 people were arrested on Diwali
night for violating cracker norms, disorderly conduct, and gambling.