Kolkata: A payloader — that can be rented for around Rs 8,000-10,000 for four hours — became the centre of a political storm after it was allegedly used to demolish a Trinamool Congress-affiliated hawker union office during a BJP victory rally near New Market on Tuesday night.The office near Gate No. 13 of Hogg Market was reduced to rubble when the rally, attended by around 500 BJP supporters, passed through the area amid loud DJ music and chants of “Jai Shri Ram”. A neighbouring meat shop also suffered partial damage.Trinamool leaders alleged that BJP workers carried out a targeted attack during the celebrations following the party’s landslide victory.“In central Kolkata, near New Market. With police permission. As part of victory celebrations, a bulldozer was brought in to demolish meat shops. CAPF standing around. The BJP for you,” TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien wrote in a social media post. He shared a video of a bulldozer taking on the structures outside New Market. According to local sources, the rally began from Free School Street and moved through Bertram Street after BJP supporters garlanded a 12-foot cut-out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Humayun Place crossing. The procession later headed towards the Kolkata Municipal Corporation headquarters.The use of the payloader in the rally surprised civic authorities. A senior Kolkata Municipal Corporation solid waste management official said the department first received an alert from a civic employee residing near New Market.“An alarm was raised and after an initial inquiry we found all our payloaders lying in our garages only. On further inquiry, it was a rented payloader,” the official said.According to civic officials, private agencies charge around Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 for renting a payloader for four hours.Eyewitnesses claimed the trouble began around 8 pm when the rally, with some youths from the Dom Patty area, reached the meat market entrance. The demolished structure, allegedly linked to the INTTUC, had reportedly operated there for nearly 15 years.Local trader Md Nadeem said several rally participants were recording videos and taking selfies while the demolition was underway. “They even looted several items that were kept inside the office at the time of it being pulled down,” alleged another eyewitness who did not wish to be named.When reporters visited the site on Wednesday morning, debris and shattered glass lay scattered across the area as curious residents gathered to inspect the damaged structure. No police personnel were seen at the spot at the time.Reacting to the incident, Kolkata Police commissioner Ajay Nand banned using bulldozers or payloaders at any rallies. He said action would be take against those responsible for it. At Lalbazar, a senior police officer said that while the rally had permission, no permission was sought to use the bulldozer.
