Four Kolkata Police personnel were injured and five people were arrested after two separate incidents involving attacks on officers enforcing prohibited firecracker restrictions and responding to a public disturbance during Kali Puja in Netaji Nagar and Tiljala, police said.
The first incident occurred in the Khanpur Basti area under Netaji Nagar police station at around 1am on Sunday, after police received information that banned high-decibel firecrackers were being burst on the main road. A patrol team reached the location to stop the activity but was allegedly surrounded, pushed and shoved by local residents.
A backup team was sent to the area as the confrontation escalated. Police said a resident identified as Shivprasad Singh allegedly attacked officers with a bamboo stick when they attempted to intervene. Several other people then joined the assault, according to the police account.
Sergeant Debnath Bandyopadhyay, sub-inspector Prashant Roka and assistant sub-inspector Srinibas Haldar were injured in the Netaji Nagar incident. The three officers were taken to a nearby medical facility, received primary treatment and were discharged, police said.
Netaji Nagar Police subsequently detained four people: Rahul Singh, Sanjay Mondal, Shivprasad Singh and Manas Singh. The arrests followed the alleged assault on the officers who had been attempting to enforce restrictions on prohibited fireworks and maintain order on the main road.
A separate incident was reported in Tiljala on the same night near Colony Bazaar. Lalbazar, the Kolkata Police headquarters, confirmed that an officer responding to a public disturbance outside a local Kali Puja pandal was assaulted. Tiljala Police had received information that Sayan Bandyopadhyay, who was allegedly intoxicated, was creating a disturbance at the location.
When officers from Tiljala police station attempted to intervene, Bandyopadhyay allegedly abused and physically attacked one of them. Police arrested him in connection with the incident.
The cases highlight the operational challenges faced by police during major festival nights, when officers are required to enforce restrictions on firecrackers while also responding to crowd-related disturbances and complaints from residents. In these incidents, the police response involved both enforcement of fireworks rules and intervention in local public-order situations.
The reported assaults occurred as police teams were carrying out duties in densely occupied neighbourhoods and around a festival venue. The injuries to four officers and the arrests of five people were reported by Kolkata Police through the concerned stations and Lalbazar. Further legal proceedings will determine the charges and evidence in each case.
