Elderly Woman Assaulted in Kolkata After Protesting Against Illegal Late-Night Firecrackers During Kali Puja

An elderly woman stated she approached authorities to complain about loud firecrackers being set off late at night (Representational)

On Thursday, an elderly woman filed a complaint against five individuals for physically assaulting her after she voiced objections to late-night firecracker activity. The incident occurred in the Bhawanipur neighborhood of south Kolkata during the early hours of Tuesday.

The woman claimed that when she initially approached the police on the day of the incident, officers declined to record her complaint since it happened during Kali Puja celebrations, when firecracker use is common practice.

Nevertheless, she returned to the police station on Thursday accompanied by legal representation to submit her complaint. This time, authorities registered an FIR against five individuals based on her allegations. However, no arrests have been made in relation to the incident thus far.

According to reports, Anupama Chowdhury, who resides at 4B Asutosh Mukherjee Road, alleged that some young people from the neighborhood were setting off firecrackers at approximately 1:30 a.m. during Kali Puja, which exceeded the permitted hours for such activities.

The elderly resident stated that she went to protest against the loud firecracker disturbance. She further alleged that her residence experienced a minor fire caused by the fireworks. The young men reportedly responded by assaulting both her and her brother when they voiced their objections to the firecracker activity.

In an interview with media representatives, the elderly woman recounted, "I was asleep during the night. Suddenly, I noticed my house filled with smoke. I was struggling to breathe. I went downstairs and requested that the young men stop setting off firecrackers. They forcibly grabbed me and proceeded to beat me. Nobody in the vicinity came to offer assistance."

She expressed concerns about potential future attacks. Additionally, she raised issues regarding lack of cooperation from law enforcement officials. Police representatives have stated that an investigation into the matter has commenced.