What damages were done to the lives and properties of Indians during, Calcutta violence?
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Answer:
The ongoing protests at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh and continued agitations elsewhere in the city and the country over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or the CAA have brought to the fore the debate over the impact of agitations and the resultant disruption to normal life. While agitators point to their fundamental right to protest, the plight of the people affected by agitations and their right to continue with normal activity often get ignored.
Last month the Uttar Pradesh police penalised 450 people accused of vandalising public and private property and causing inconvenience to the public. The politics of the issue notwithstanding, this is one of the few cases of punitive action. This issue has long been brushed under the carpet and organisers and participants of protests and bandhs mostly get off scot-free, sometimes getting away with a few hours of detention and having minor charges slapped on them.
The only other instance of strong punitive action for vandalising public property was against the Dera Sacha Sauda, whose followers went on a rampage and destroyed properties across Haryana and Punjab in 2017, following the arrest of the head of the cult, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had ruled that all losses caused to property be recovered from the Dera. To date, though, no recovery has been made