Bengal BJP chief stages dharna outside DGP office along with Murshidabad riot-affected people

Kolkata: West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar on Wednesday staged a dharna outside the office of the director general of police in Kolkata along with some people affected by the Murshidabad violence, demanding an audience with the top police officer to let the victims express their concerns.

He sought action against those who hatched a conspiracy to foment communal riots in the Muslim-majority district.

As DGP Rajiv Kumar was away, Union minister Majumdar demanded that either he come to his office and grant an audience with the riot-affected people or depute a senior officer to hear their demands.

Before taking the riot-affected people, numbering around eight to ten, to the DGP's office in Bhavani Bhavan in south Kolkata, Majumdar organised a press conference at the state BJP headquarters, where the victims narrated their ordeal.

The affected people, most of whom were women hailing from poor socio-economic backgrounds, recalled how they had to take shelter in a nearby forest after leaving behind their belongings and rushing out of their homes as a mob approached their Bedbona village in Samserganj area on Friday.

"Hours later, when we returned to our village, most of our houses were either vandalised or burnt down as belongings, including cash and valuables, were looted by the mob. We were traumatised and we crossed the Bhagirathi River in boats and sought shelter in a school-turned-relief camp in adjoining Malda district," an elderly woman, who was among the riot-affected people, told reporters.

Another man, who was also staying at the relief camp, said he stared at a bleak future as all his money, which he saved working as a migrant worker outside the state, had been looted.

He said the local TMC councillor arrived after the marauding mob left and that they were not assured by his promises about ensuring security.

"I, my wife, mother and little daughter had to leave our village in a boat and seek shelter in adjoining Malda," he said.

Majumdar said that though the DGP has promised that not a single person involved in the riots would be spared, he questioned whether the top police officer has spoken to the affected people.

"The affected people claimed that the mob was instigated by some neighbours, whose houses, however, were left untouched. Has this aspect been looked into?" the Union minister asked.

"All miscreants should be identified. We are yet to see the preliminary inquiry report of the police," he said.

Majumdar demanded that the state government compensate the affected people to rebuild their houses, shops and other properties.

"Even properties of TMC members were not spared by the rioters," he claimed.

He demanded security for the affected families and claimed they were being pressurised to leave the relief camps in Malda and return to their villages despite the situation not completely returning to normal.

"The riot-affected people are not feeling safe in the presence of the police and are demanding that the BSF set up a camp in the area but the administration is trying to hush up the extent of the carnage and is forcing them to return without ensuring their safety. How can these people return if all the attackers are not identified and punished?" he asked.