Malda riots: What actually led to communal violence - 10 things to know

Malda: West Bengal's Malda district continued to remain tense on Thursday after a mob reportedly set fire to Kaliachak police station and over a dozen vehicles. Here's what actually led to the communal violence:-

- Tension gripped West Bengal's Malda district on Sunday after a mob torched the entire police station and several vehicles during a protest rally against Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari

- The protest rally was organised by a Muslim organisation - Anjuman Ahle Sunnatul Jamaat (AJS)

- Kamlesh Tiwari had allegedly called Prophet Muhammad the first homosexual in the world. Tiwari's statement came a day after UP Cabinet minister and senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan called RSS members homosexuals.

- BJP is accusing Mamata Banerjee's government of shielding the accused as only 9 out of 130 accused were arrested till Wednesday. Also, 6 of 9 were let off with bail hours after the arrest took place.

-  Shamik Bhattacharya, the lone BJP MLA in West Bengal, was detained on Wednesday. He was not allowed to visit Kaliachak village, which had witnessed violence on Sunday.

- The Centre has now sought a report from West Bengal government on the Malda communal violence. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to visit West Bengal's Malda district on Jan 18

- A huge amount of public properties were due to mob attack 

- Malda district continued to witness violence for the third day

- Section 144 is still imposed in the area since Sunday night

- Additional security forces including RAF jawan have been deployed to control the situation and face any untoward incident

Malda's Kaliachak police station falls in the Muslim-dominated Sujapur area in the district. Also, West Bengal will go to polls this year.

Earlier, around one lakh Muslims on had gathered in UP's Muzaffarnagar, demanding death penalty for Kamlesh Tiwari.

Tiwari is currently behind bars on charges of hate speech.