CPI(M) demands judicial inquiry by sitting high court judge into Murshidabad violence

Kolkata: The CPI(M) on Tuesday demanded a judicial inquiry into the violence in West Bengal's Murshidabad district by a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court.

Claiming that the police have been accused of not acting properly to quell the violence in Murshidabad that claimed three lives, CPI(M) West Bengal state secretary Mohammed Salim said that as such an independent probe is required to unravel the truth behind the clashes.

"We demand a judicial inquiry into the incidents of violence in Murshidabad by a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court," he said, addressing a press conference at the party's state headquarters here.

Salim said that the CPI(M) is also demanding compensation for those affected by the violence.

The CPI(M) leader also said that he filed a petition on Tuesday before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Act.

"This is not an issue between two religions, it is about the fundamental rights of the Muslims which are being taken away by way of the new Act passed in the Parliament," he said.

Salim also claimed that Haragobinda Das, who was hacked to death along with his son, is a former member of the CPI(M) and that owing to old age he has ceased to continue his membership.

The CPI(M) leader claimed that both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress were trying to divide the people on religious lines.

BJP president J P Nadda has said that the new law, which came into effect on April 8, would help utilise Waqf properties for the welfare of poor Muslims and women, adding it would free these assets from the control of a small but influential section of people and open them for the minority community's overall benefit.

The BJP said in New Delhi that it will launch a fortnight-long public awareness campaign, aimed especially at Muslims, from April 20 to publicise the benefits of the Waqf (Amendment) Act and counter the opposition's criticism of it.

Nadda accused the opposition parties of misleading Muslims over the provisions of the amended law as part of its vote-bank politics.

Salim said that the Left Front had demanded that the Army be called in to deal with the situation in Murshidabad.

Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel have been deployed in Murshidabad on an order of the Calcutta High Court to bring peace in the troubled areas of the district.