Smashan Road Durga Puja Committee Denies Extortion Allegations, Blames Parking Dispute for Ambicapatty Clash

A clash erupted last Sunday in Ambicapatty between the Smashan Road Durga Puja Committee members and the owner of Chaivours, Subhadip Roy, after a heated dispute involving donation demands and a parking issue. The situation escalated, leading to police intervention, including the deployment of the Commando Battalion, to restore order. Later Roy filed an FIR at the Sadar Police Station in Silchar and the police called the committee members taking suo-motu cognisance. On Tuesday, the committee members called a Press Conference at the Smashan Road Durga Mandir to make their stance clear.

According to Subhadip Roy, the Puja committee had allegedly demanded a donation of ₹5,000, threatening to close his business if he refused to pay. “They asked for ₹5,000 initially, but I refused. Later, they threatened me to shut down my business. What kind of hooliganism is that?”, claimed Roy on Sunday. However, the committee denied these allegations, stating they only asked for ₹1,000 and eventually settled for ₹700, which Roy agreed to pay after Mahalaya. They dismissed Roy’s extortion claims as “coloured” and fabricated.

Committee members provided a different version of events, blaming the altercation on a parking issue. “While transporting our idol, we asked him to shift parked vehicles blocking the road. His response was rude, and he even came out with a spatula to attack us,” said one member on Tuesday. They added that Roy and a woman at his shop used abusive language, further escalating the situation.

The committee also accused Roy of running an illegal business, claiming he does not possess a valid trade license. “We visited the Silchar Municipal Board, and it turns out his shop doesn’t have the necessary permits. We went there to appeal for a traffic jam-free road and file a complaint based on the incident on Sunday. There we found he too went to apply for his trade license but the SMB denied it since there was a complaint against his shop already,” said a member.

Revelling the number of committee members outnumbered Chaivours party in the altercation on Sunday, the member of the Smashan Road Durga Puja committee said, “He said we attacked him, but what he and the other female there said would boil anyone’s blood. They used abusive language against us. But we didn’t hit him, there was just pushing and shoving. Our club members are also young-blooded youth and they were 30 to 40 in number, can you imagine his condition if we hit him? There is not a sign of scratch on his body”.

In a broader accusation, senior committee members criticized the tea shop for promoting what they described as a decline in local values. “Since the time this tea shop had opened here, we see young boys and girls sitting there on their 2-wheelers the entire evening sipping tea and gossiping, while some are smoking. The men smokes and also… This is not the culture of Barak Valley for boys and girls to smoke in public. This affects our younger generation. When the police come, they see the jam, and the circus, and they too sip tea from his stall and leave. No one takes any action. There is a coaching academy right opposite the shop, this has ruined the atmosphere of our area”

The incident has sparked concerns about extortion, public safety, and the cultural shift in one of Silchar’s educational hubs. The situation remains tense, with both sides standing firm on their versions of events.