HC panel: Cops were 'inactive, absent' during 'targeted' Murshidabad attacks
KOLKATA:
Bengal Police
was "completely inactive and absent" during targeted mob attacks on homes and residents in Murshidabad's Betbona under the cover of anti-waqf law protests on April 11 and 12, according to a
fact-finding report
filed by the three-member committee constituted by
Calcutta high court
.
The report flags local Trinamool councillor Mehoob Alam and Shamsherganj MLA Amirul Islam's presence among the vandals who ran riot in the area on April 11, in one instance destroying pumps and tanks to ensure there was no water to save properties that were burned down. Detailing the plight of the victims, the report mentions how miscreants poured kerosene on a pile of garments belonging to the women of a family and set them alight so that they didn't have anything left to wear.
"The MLA saw the vandalism and went away. The violence continued on April 12," it states. Repeated calls to police for help from besieged residents on both days went unanswered, enabling multiple mobs to break into homes and pick their targets, the report says, citing the fact-finding panel's interactions with victims.
Many Murshidabad victims still living with kin: HC panel
The
Trinamool Congress
govt had blamed "outsiders" from across the border for the violence.
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The division bench of Justices Soumen Sen and Raja Basu Chowdhury formed the committee - consisting of National Human Rights Commission registrar (law) Joginder Singh, West Bengal Legal Services Authority member-secretary Satya Arnab Ghosal and West Bengal Judicial Service registrar Saugata Chakraborty - to identify people affected by the violence and assess the damage.
Three people were killed and hundreds were left homeless in the violence, looting and arson that raged in pockets of Murshidabad over the Waqf (Amendment) Act.
Hundreds fled by boat across the Ganga to seek refuge in a school building there.
The HC-constituted panel visited Betbona village and some areas of Shamsherganj, where they identified 113 homes that were broken into, looted and set ablaze. "The houses there are visibly damaged (75-80% damage), totally inhabitable... rehabilitation is not possible without thorough reconstruction," the report says. Many of the victims the panel spoke to said they were still living with relatives after having lost property, cash and official documents in the targeted violence.
Around 29 shops were damaged in Dhuliyan's Ghoshpara. The committee also noted that Betbona residents wanted permanent BSF camps and central armed forces.
Mobs from Shamsherganj, Hijaltala, Shiulitala and Digri came with their faces masked, the victims told the panel.
TMC said the party brass and legal aides needed to minutely scan the report, filed last week and made public on Wednesday, before putting out an official response.
"We will provide a detailed statement after analysing whether this report is unbiased, complete, reflects the actual situation, and reveals any hidden conspiracies. For now, we oppose BJP's distorted facts," party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said. "We are examining whether the report is comprehensive, accurately represents the ground situation of the area, or is merely accusatory, and whether it includes the full statement of the police administration.
We will also see if the report mentions the involvement of outsiders. We are studying this from a legal perspective."
Minister Sashi Panja said BJP's propaganda on the Murshidabad riots was provocative and politically motivated.
"What happened in Murshidabad is condemnable, nobody supports it. Following the unrest, the CM, state administration and police have fulfilled all their duties. Be it compensation or rehabilitation, the state govt has delivered on its responsibilities. There have been arrests and a probe," Panja said.
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