Bose ignores Mamata’s request not to visit Murshidabad, state submits violence report to Calcutta HC

Kolkata: Sidestepping Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s appeal to avoid visiting strife-torn Murshidabad immediately, West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose announced on Thursday that he would reach the ground-zero of violence in less than 24 hours.

On his return from Delhi and following a meeting with a group of displaced victims of Murshidabad riots, who were escorted to Raj Bhavan by state BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar, Bose said he intends to visit the troubled spots on a two-day trip starting Friday to make an objective assessment of the ground situation.

Bose’s visit is likely to coincide with the scheduled visit to the same locations by a team of National Women’s Commission members headed by its chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar.

The developments took place on a day the Calcutta High Court heard a petition on extension of stay of central forces in the violence-affected areas of Murshidabad, and a prayer to hand over probe to the NIA, even as the West Bengal government submitted a report detailing the nature of violence that unfolded in the district.

The report outlined how, besides the commoners, the police were targeted, too, by rioters who gradually turned violent during protests over the Waqf Act.

A division bench of Justices Soumen Sen and Raja Basu Chowdhury suggested that a three-member panel, comprising one member each from the National Human Rights Commission, the West Bengal State Human Rights Commission and the State Legal Services Authority, should visit the affected pockets of the district to oversee the restoration of peace and rehabilitation of displaced people.

Stating that the situation was gradually returning to normal in Murshidabad and confidence-building measures were underway, CM Banerjee urged Bose to defer his proposed visit to the violence-hit areas on grounds that the restoration process could be hampered by it.

"I could have gone there, but then others would have also said they would visit. The situation is not conducive now. An SIT has been formed to investigate the unrest in Murshidabad. I will visit the district at an appropriate time.

"The state government will rebuild the houses of the victims. The administration is trying to restore the confidence of the people. I would request the governor not to visit the riot-hit district now," Banerjee said.

The governor will leave for Malda on Friday morning and visit the camps where the refugees from Murshidabad are staying, a Raj Bhawan official said, adding, he will then leave for the riot-affected areas of Murshidabad and return either on Friday night or Saturday morning.

Asked about Banerjee’s appeal, Bose said the request would be taken in all seriousness, but after meeting the victims, particularly the women, he wanted to evaluate for himself the situation on the ground.

"If peace is restored, I will be very happy about that. Once I realise it has been done, I will be the happiest person and make my report accordingly," he said, indicating he will submit a report to the Centre giving an update about the situation.

Meanwhile, in its report to the high court, the state submitted that the anti-Waqf (Amendment) Act agitation began on April 4 in all police station areas of Jangipur in Murshidabad.

"Initially the protest organised by different organisations were peaceful and non-violent," it said, maintaining that violence by unruly mob started from April 8.

The report stated that a mob of about 5,000 people had on April 8 blocked NH-12 at Umarpur and turned vicious.

"They started throwing bricks, stones on police personnel and started assaulting police personnel by lathi, ‘hasuan’ (sharp weapon), iron sticks and deadly weapons with intention to kill the police personnel," it said.

It said that the mob had set fire to multiple government vehicles and other properties.

The report, a copy of which is available with PTI, stated that on April 11, the mob had again blocked the national highway and vandalised government and private property at Suti and Samserganj.

It also said that at Sajur More in Suti, owing to escalation of violence and "in the right of self-defence, police opened fire to disperse the crowd to save the lives of police personnel and general people".

The West Bengal Police arrested one of the masterminds behind the brutal murder of a father and son at Jaffarabad in Murshidabad during the riots, taking the total number of arrests to three, a senior officer said.

Inzamul Haque, a resident of the neighbourhood where the killings took place, was apprehended from the Suti area of the district late on Wednesday after night-long raids, Additional Director General (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar said.

“He was not only involved in planning the gruesome crime, but also played a key role in tampering with evidence by snapping power supply and destroying CCTV cameras in the area,” Sarkar said.

Earlier this week, police had arrested two brothers, Kalu Nawab and Dildar Nawab – also residents of the same locality – in connection with the crime.

The officer informed that 278 people have been arrested across the district so far in connection with the riots.

Sarkar said no fresh incidents of violence have been reported in the last four days, and that 85 families who had fled their homes have now returned.

The ADG said that Samsherganj — one of the worst-hit areas — is also gradually returning to normal, with nearly 70 per cent of the shops reopened. “Jangipur is also peaceful and stable,” he noted.